■iU; 


m 


^c/^  "pym. 


(_^^  /xyt'C.^-^cj 


<A^. 


/ 


V     J 


YITAL  GODLINESS: 


A  TREATISE 


ON 


EXPEEIMENTAL 


AND 


PRACTICAL  PIETY. 


BY  WILLIAM  S.  PLUMER,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 


PUBLISHED   BY  THE 
AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY, 

150  NASSAU-STKEET,  NEW  YOKK. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1864,  by 
the  American  Tract  Society,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District 
Court  of  the  Southern  District  of  the  State  of  New  York. 


IF  THIS  BOOK  SHALL  AID  ANY  ONE 
IN  MAKING 

HIS  CALLING  AND  ELECTION  SUEE, 

TO 

THE  EVER  BLESSED  NAME 

OF 

mu  gmicx,  tlxf^  MXy  mx&  t\xt  iolj)  (^Hxm, 

BE  GLORY  IN  THE  HIGHEST, 


COXTEXTS. 

CHAPTEE  L 
General  remarks  on  religions  e^iperience — 7 

CHAPTEE  n. 
Early  religions  impressions ~ --    21 

CHAPTEE  m. 

Early  religious  impressions,  oontinned — Eeligions  inqniry  —    3i 

CHAPTEE  rr. 

Fnrther  striyings  of  the  Spirit — 16 

CH^iPTEE  Y. 
a\.  sense  of  wretohedness --    64 

CHAPTEE  YL 
Conviction — Conversion S'2 

CHAPTEE  YH. 
Cases  of  religions  distress — — 106 

CHAPTEE  YHT. 
Spiritnal  darkness 127 

CHAPTEE  rs:. 

Backsliding - IIS 

CHAPTEE  X. 
Faith ~ 173 

CHAPTEE  XI. 
Repentance- — 210 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  Xn. 
HumiHty 249 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  fear  of  God -- 287 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Hope 307 

CHAPTER  XV. 
LoYeto  God 327 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Love  to  Christ 347 

CHAPTER  XVn. 
Love  to  our  neighbor 369 

CHAPTER  XVin. 
Love  to  the  brethren 393 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
Peace 4:11 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Courage 431 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Contentment 454 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
Patience •• 482 

CHAPTER  XXni 
Joy - 514 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
Zeal 551 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
Concluding  observations - — -  575 

Full  alphabetical  index 605 


VITAL  GODLINESS 


CHAPTER   I. 

GENERAL  REMARKS   ON  RELIGIOUS  EXPERI- 
ENCE. 

The  test  of  real  character  is  to  be  sought 
in  each  man's  experience.  He  who  has  never 
exercised  faith,  repentance,  love,  humility, 
hope,  and  joy,  cannot  be  profited  by  his  theo- 
ries and  speculations  on  these  subjects.  All 
knowledge  which  is  unfelt  and  inoperative 
puffs  up  the  mind  and  hardens  the  heart.  It 
is  better  to  have  the  workings  of  gracious 
affections  than  to  be  able  to  define  them,  or  to 
speak  ever  so  learnedly  respecting  them.  The 
great  use  of  a  large  part  of  divine  truth  is 
rightly  to  affect  our  minds  and  hearts,  and  so 
to  control  our  practice. 

It  is  often  doubted  whether  the  present  age 
is  remarkable  for  depth  of  religious  feeling.  In 
many  cases  ministers  preach  a  low  experience. 


8  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

The  consequence  is  painful  laxity  in  religious 
practice.  Among  many  professors  there  is  a 
manifest  disinclination  to  converse  on  vital 
subjects  in  religion.  This  is  a  great  evil.  Al- 
though hypocrites  may  babble  on  such  topics, 
yet  true  Christians  should  not  thereby  be  de- 
terred from  telling  what  God  has  done  for 
their  souls,  or  from  diligently  seeking  to  dis- 
cover and  commend  the  highest  style  of  holy 
living.  Perhaps  on  all  branches  of  these  sub- 
jects there  is  less  preaching  than  formerly.  A 
minister  of  this  generation  said  that  he  had 
received  many  hundreds  of  printed  sermons 
sent  out  by  his  brethren,  and  that  among  them 
all  he  remembered  but  one  on  the  subject  of 
experimental  religion.  Yet  it  is  noticeable 
that  when  a  preacher  of  ability  and  sound  dis- 
crimination discusses  any  branch  of  this  sub- 
ject, he  is  always  highly  acceptable  to  the  best 
class  of  professors. 

The  testimonies  to  the  necessity  of  experi- 
mental piety  are  exceedingly  numerous.  Al- 
most every  fit  form  of  expression  is  employed 
by  inspired  writers  to  teach  us  this  great  truthu 
Thus  says  David,  "0  taste  and  see  that  the 
Lord  is  good ;  blessed  is  the  man  that  trusteth 
in  him."     Psa.  34:8.     "Come  and  hear,  all 


RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE.  9 

ye  that  fear  God,  and  I  will  declare  what  he 
hath  done  for  my  soul."  Psa.  66  :  16.  So 
Elihii  said,  "Suffer  me  a  little,  and  I  will  show 
thee  that  I  have  yet  to  speak  on  God's  behalf." 
Job  36:2.  Often  in  the  Scriptures  religious 
experience  is  expressed  by  hungering  and 
thirsting,  by  eating  and  drinking.  Isa.  55  : 1 ; 
Matt.  5:6;  Song  5:1;  John  6  :  53-58.  Job, 
David,  and  Isaiah  all  inform  us  of  the  power 
of  religious  experience  in  their  own  case.  Job 
42:5,  6;  Psa.  51;  Isa.  Q  :  6. 

Nor  is  the  testimony  of  uninspired  men  on 
this  point  less  harmonious.  Richard  Baxter 
says,  "The  way  to  have  the  firmest  belief  of 
the  Christian  faith  is  to  draw  near  and  taste 
and  try  it,  and  lay  bare  the  heart  to  receive 
the  impression  of  it ;  and  then,  by  the  sense  of 
its  admirable  effects,  we  shall  know  that  which 
bare  speculation  could  not  discover.  Though 
there  must  be  a  belief  on  other  grounds  first, 
so  much  as  to  let  in  the  word  into  the  soul, 
and  to  cause  us  to  submit  our  hearts  to  its  op- 
erations, yet  it  is  this  experience  that  must 
strengthen  it  and  confirm  it.  If  any  man  will 
do  the  will  of  Christ,  he  shall  know  that  the 
doctrine  is  of  God.  John  7  :  17.  The  melody 
of  music  is  better  known  by  hearing  it  than 

1* 


10  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

by  reports  of  it,  and  the  sweetness  of  meat  is 
known  better  by  tasting  than  by  hearsay, 
though  upon  report  we  may  be  drawn  to  taste 
and  try.  So  is  there  a  spiritual  sense  in  us  of 
the  effects  of  the  gospel  on  our  own  hearts, 
which  will  cause  men  to  love  it  and  hold  it  fast 
against  the  cavils  of  deceivers  or  the  tempta- 
tions of  the  great  deceiver." 

John  Owen  says,  ''Experience  is  the  food 
of  all  grace,  which  it  grows  and  thrives  upon. 
Every  taste  that  faith  obtains  of  divine  love 
and  grace,  or  how  gracious  the  Lord  is,  adds 
to  its  measure  and  stature.  Two  things  there- 
fore must  briefly  be  declared:  1.  That  the  ex- 
perience of  the  reality,  excellency,  power,  and 
efficacy  of  the  things  that  are  believed,  is  an 
effectual  means  of  increasing  faith  and  love. 
2.  That  it  is  the  Holy  Ghost  which  gives  us 
this  experience." 

John  Newton  says,  "Experience  is  the 
Lord's  school,  and  they  who  are  taught  by  him 
usually  learn  by  the  mistakes  they  make  that 
they  have  no  wisdom,  and  by  the  slips  and 
falls  they  meet  with  that  they  have  no 
strength." 

Charles  Buck  says,  ''The  report  of  the 
blessings  of  the  religion  of  Christ,  or  the  intel- 


BELIGIOUS  EXPEEIENCE.  11 

ligence  that  provision  is  made  for  guilty  man, 
can  be  of  no  avail  without  a  real  participation 
of  them.  We  must  not  perceive  only,  but  we 
must  feel;  and  feeling,  of  course  we  experi- 
ence." 

President  Edwards  the  elder  says,  ''A  gra- 
cious experience  arises  from  operations  and 
influences  which  are  spiritual,  from  an  inward 
principle  which  is  divine,  a  communication  of 
God,  a  participation  of  the  divine  nature : 
Christ  living  in  the  heart,  the  Holy  Spirit 
dwelling  there  in  union  with  the  faculties  of 
the  soul  as  an  internal  vital  principle,  exert- 
ing his  own  proper  nature  in  the  exercise  of 
those  faculties.  Now  it  is  no  wonder  that  that 
which  is  divine  is  powerful  and  effectual,  for  it 
has  omnipotence  on  its  side." 

The  late  Dr.  John  M'Dowell  says,^''If  we 
be  Christians,  we  shall  delight  to  meet  with 
our  fellow- Christians,  and  engage  with  them  in 
conversation  on  experimental  piety.  And  true 
religion  must  either  be  very  low  or  be  entirely 
wanting  in  the  heart  of  that  person  who  sel- 
dom speaks  on  the  subject,  or  extends  not  his 
conversation  beyond  the  doctrines  and  forms 
of  religion,  or  speaks  in  an  uninterested  or 
heartless  manner.      The  Scripture  saints,  as 


12  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

appears  from  tlieir  history,  engaged  mucli  ia 
religious  conversation." 

Yet  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  but  few  mod- 
ern books  treat  of  this  subject.  Doctrinal  dis- 
cussions, treatises  on  the  history  of  the  Bible, 
on  branches  of  Scripture  morals,  and  on  church' 
government,  are  numerous.  But  rarely  do  we 
find  able  men  turning  their  attention  to  the 
work  of  God  in  the  soul.  It  was  not  always 
so.  In  the  seventeenth  century  the  ablest 
productions  of  the  greatest  minds  were  on  ex- 
perimental religion.  The  exceeding  popular- 
ity of  a  few  books,  first  published  in  our  own 
age,  shows  that  so  far  as  there  is  piety,  such 
reading  is  in  great  demand.  This  will  be  more 
and  more  so  as  true  religion  shall  prevail. 

It  is  admitted  that  the  subject  of  experi- 
mental religion  is  not  free  from  difficulties. 
But  most  of  these  are  theoretical,  rather  than 
practical.  Yet  those  which  grow  out  of  the 
deccitfulncss  of  sin  and  the  temptations  of  the 
great  adversary,  should  be  carefully  studied 
by  all  persons,  by  religious  teachers  in  partic- 
ular, and  the  consolations  of  God  sought  out 
and  administered  accordingly.  It  is  also  wor- 
thy of  notice  that  the  best  treatises  in  this  de- 
partment of  religious  literature  are  often  nar- 


KELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCE.  13 

ratives  of  the  dealings  of  God  with  particular 
persons.  Eeligious  biography  constitutes  a 
very  useful  and  popular  part  of  a  well-chosen 
library.  If  the  time  shall  come  when  the  me- 
moirs of  Halyburton  and  Brainerd  shall  be 
unwelcome  to  the  great  body  of  God's  people, 
then  indeed  the  glory  will  have  departed. 

John  Newton  remarks  that  "  it  is  to  be  la- 
mented that  in  this  enlightened  age,  so  signal- 
ized by  the  prevalence  of  the  spirit  of  investi- 
gation, religion  should  by  many  be  thought  the 
only  subject  unworthy  of  a  serious  inquiry; 
and  that  while  in  every  branch  of  science  they 
studiously  endeavor  to  trace  every  fact  to  its 
proper  and  adequate  cause,  and  are  cautious 
of  admitting  any  theory  which  cannot  stand  the 
test  of  experiment,  they  treat  the  use  of  the 
term  experimental,  when  applied  to  religion, 
with  contempt.'^ 

The  tendency  of  this  age  is  to  become  vague 
and  superficial.  In  giving  an  account  of  the 
work  of  God  on  one  or  many,  there  is  a  prone- 
ness  to  deal  in  generals  and  avoid  particulars. 
In  some  cases  there  may  be  reasons  of  deli- 
cacy for  saying  little ;  nor  is  it  necessary  to 
present  individuals  by  name  or  description  of 
person  before  the   community.     But  how  re- 


14:  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

freshing  it  would  be  to  meet  with  a  recent 
narrative  like  that  which  President  Edwards 
has  given  of  one  who  is  now  understood  to 
have  been  the  person  who  afterwards  became 
his  wife.  In  their  narratives  of  revivals  of 
religion,  the  old  magazines  often  present  quite 
a  contrast  to  many  of  our  modern  journals. 
This  deficiency  has  sometimes  been  noticed 
and  a  desire  for  a  change  expressed,  but  we 
seem  to  be  getting  further  and  further  from 
the  old  paths. 

Yet  let  us  not  be  discouraged.  Let  us  la- 
bor to  banish  unreasonable  prejudices  against 
this  subject  as  a  proper  topic  of  familiar  or 
religious  conversation.  This  will  be  no  easy 
task.  So  many  ignorant  men  have  spoken 
things  which  they  ought  not,  so  many  weak 
men  have  uttered  folly,  and  so  many  bad  men 
have  obtruded  their  erroneous  views  upon  the 
attention  of  others,  that  some  have  been  quite 
disgusted  with  the  whole  matter.  Thus  it  has 
come  to  pass  that  even  in  the  free  church  of 
Scotland  a  candidate  for  the  ministry  is  not 
examined  as  to  his  acquaintance  with  experi- 
nujutal  religion  or  his  motives  for  seeking  the 
sacred  office.  But  it  is  never  safe  to  argue 
from  the  abuse  of  aii}^  thing  against  its  use. 


EELIGIOUS  EXPEEIENCE.  15 

Not  only  in  preacliing,  but  in  their  private 
walks,  pastors  might  exert  a  happy  influence 
on  this  subject.  Let  them  converse  freely  and 
fully  with  those  seeking  admission  to  the  Lord's 
table.  In  their  pastoral  visits  let  not  this  sub- 
ject be  forgotten.  Sometimes  it  may  be  well 
to  leave  particular  questions  to  be  answered 
or  talked  over  on  a  subsequent  interview.  It 
would  also  be  well  if  all  that  class  of  able 
works  which  have  handled  the  different 
branches  of  this  subject  were  brought  into 
general  use  in  our  churches.  John  Newton 
has  long  been  a  favorite.  His  writings  on  ex- 
perimental religion  contributed  much  to  the 
revival  of  piety  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eigh- 
teenth and  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
centuries.  John  Owen  on  Indwelling  Sin  is 
more  profound  than  any  thing  Newton  ever 
wrote.  One  of  the  best  works  on  the  whole 
subject  is  Guthrie's  Trial  of  a  Saving  Interest 
in  Christ.  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander  on  Ee- 
ligious  Experience  is  admirably  suited  to  awa- 
ken a  fondness  for  this  kind  of  reading. 

But  more  than  any  thing  else,  we  always 
need  in  the  church  a  copious  outpouring  of 
God's  Spirit  on  the  hearts  of  his  people,  giv- 
ing them  a  zest  for  spiritual  things  and  a  great 


16  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

desire  for  a  full  assurance  of  understanding,  of 
faith  and  of  hope.  Many  real  Christians  have 
made  but  low  attainments,  and  are  too  little 
dissatisfied  with  their  present  state.  One  who 
should  speak  and  act  with  the  zeal  and  ardor 
of  Paul,  of  Knox,  of  Welsh,  of  Whitefield,  or 
of  Henry  Martyn,  would  by  the  thoughtless 
world  be  esteemed  mad.  But  wisdom  is  jus- 
tified of  her  children.  The  truly  regenerate 
and  growing  Christian  will  not  be  offended  at 
sound  views  on  this  subject. 

It  may  encourage  us  to  study  this  subject, 
to  remember  that,  though  in  unessential  partic- 
ulars there  is  an  endless  diversity  in  the  expe- 
rience of  men,  yet  in  all  that  necessarily  be- 
longs to  vital  piety  there  is  a  substantial  agree- 
ment. Perhaps  a  more  striking  contrast  could 
hardly  ])q  found  between  two  men,  than  between 
John  Xewton  and  Occum  the  Indian  preacher. 
Yet  Newton  says  of  the  latter,  that  ''in  de- 
scribing to  me  the  state  of  his  heart,  when  he 
was  a  blind  idolater,  he  gave  me  in  general  a 
striking  picture  of  what  my  own  was  in  the 
early  part  of  my  own  life ;  and  his  subsequent 
views  of  the  gospel  corresponded  with  mine  as 
face  answers  to  face  in  a  glass." 

John  Owen  also  says,  "  As  sin  worketh  in 


RELIGIOUS  EXPEEIENCE.  17 

one,  so  doth  it  in  another ;  as  grace  is  effectual 
in  one,  so  is  it  in  another ;  as  he  that  prayeth 
longeth  for  mercy  and  grace,  so  do  they  that 
join  with  him.  Of  the  same  kind  with  his  ha- 
tred of  sin,  his  love  to  Christ,  his  laboring  after 
holiness  and  conformity  to  the  will  of  God,  are 
also  those  in  other  believers.  And  hence  it  is 
that  persons  'praying  in  the  Spirit'  according 
to  their  own  experience,  are  oftentimes  sup- 
posed by  every  one  in  the  congregation  rather 
to  pray  over  their  condition  than  their  own.'' 

Nor  is  there  any  way  of  preserving  men 
from  falling  into  error  respecting  the  true  na- 
ture of  religion,  but  by  bringing  them  to  feel 
its  power.  "The  head  maybe  strengthened 
till  the  heart  is  starved."  Indeed,  infidelity 
itself  will  be  sure  to  gain  a  footing  in  a  com- 
munity where  vital  godliness  is  not  experi- 
enced. John  Owen  truly  says,  "The  own- 
ing of  the  Scripture  to  be  the  word  of  God 
bespeaks  a  divine  majesty,  authority,  and 
power  to  be  present  in  it  and  with  it.  Where- 
fore, after  men  who  have  for  a  long  time  so 
professed,  do  find  that  they  never  had  any 
real  experience  of  such  a  divine  presence 
in  it  by  any  effects  upon  their  own  minds, 
they  grow  insensibly  regardless  of  it,  or  to 


18  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

allow  it  a  very  common  place  in  their  thoughts. 
When  they  have  worn  off  the  impressions  that 
were  on  their  minds  from  tradition,  education, 
and  custom,  they  do  for  the  future  rather  not " 
oppose  it  than  in  any  way  believe  it.  And 
when  once  a  reverence  unto  the  word  of  God 
on  account  of  its  authority  is  lost,  an  assent 
unto  it  on  account  of  its  truth  will  not  long 
abide.  And  all  such  persons,  under  a  concur- 
rence of  temptations  and  outward  occasions, 
will  either  reject  it  or  prefer  other  guides  be- 
fore it." 

There  is  not  a  doctrine  of  revelation  the 
power  of  which  ought  not  to  be  felt  in  the  hu- 
man soul.  If  God  is  revealed  to  us  in  a  trin- 
ity of  persons,  as  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  it  is  that  we  may  love  and  serve 
and  worship  him  just  as  he  is  revealed.  If 
Jesus  Christ  made  a  vicarious  atonement,  that 
great  doctrine  is  revealed  to  us  that  we  may 
rest  the  whole  weight  of  our  salvation  upon  it. 
If  men  are  totally  depraved,  that  truth  ought 
to  be  known  and  felt,  that  the  whole  salvation 
of  the  gospel  may  be  sought  and  secured. 
Nothing  therefore  can  be  more  unphilosophi- 
cal  than  to  charge  that  experimental  religion 
and  wild  enthusiasm  are  synonymous  terms. 


KELIGIOUS  EXPEKIENCE.  19 

If  men  dead  in  sin  are  ever  to  be  restored  to 
spiritual  life,  they  must  be  the  subjects  of  a 
mighty  work  of  grace  ;  they  must  be  taught  of 
God  ;  they  must  be  born  from  above  ;  they 
must  be  called  out  of  darkness  into  God's  mar- 
vellous light ;  they  must  be  renewed  in  the 
inner  man. 

The  advantages  of  experience  are  felt  in 
all  the  affairs  of  life.  The  truths  we  know  by 
experience  are  worth  more  to  a  wise  man  than 
all  he  can  learn  from  the  demonstrative  sci- 
ences or  the  reasonings  of  others.  In  all  the 
departments  of  life,  he -who  has  experience  has 
qualifications  denied  to  the  mere  theorist  or 
scholar.  Religious  experience  puts  us  on  our 
guard  against  the  snares  of  the  world,  the  flesh, 
and  the  devil.  It  teaches  us  modesty,  self-dis- 
trust, and  humility.  It  causes  us  to  abound  in 
all  prudence.  It  gives  us  a  delightful  confir- 
mation in  the  truth.  It  fits  us  for  doing  good 
to  an  extent  far  beyond  what  we  could  ever 
attain  by  instruction  in  the  letter  of  God's 
word. 

All  the  friends  of  true  religion  ought  care- 
fully to  guard  against  the  abuses  of  religious 
experience.  They  should  be  very  careful  to 
avoid  all  vain  boasting,  a  sin  into  which  men 


20  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

easily  fall.  They  should  learn  wisely  to  dis- 
criminate between  the  genuine  and  the  spuri- 
ous, between  effects  produced  by  divine  truth 
on  the  one  hand  and  by  nervous  temperament 
on  the  other.  They  should  be  especially  care- 
ful not  to  rely  on  any  past  attainments  which 
do  not  produce  present  good  fruit.  Any  exer- 
cise of  the  mind  which  leads  us  to  dulness  in 
devotion,  to  carelessness  about  holy  living,  to 
want  of  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  men,  is  not 
gracious.  It  may  be  well  here  to  state  that 
there  is  nothing  gained  by  substituting,  as  some 
seem  disposed  to  do,  the  term  consciousness  for 
that  of  exioerience.  There  is  no  word  better 
explained  in  religious  literature  than  the  word 
experience,  and  such  a  change  of  terms  is 
likely  to  induce  confusion. 


RELIGIOUS  IMPRESSIONS.  21 

CHAPTER   II. 

EARLY  RELIGIOUS  IMPRESSIONS. 

The  early  exercises  of  a  soul  turning  to 
God  have  unusual  interest,  because  they  are 
connected  with  the  setting  up  of  Christ's  king- 
dom in  the  heart.  The  mind  of  man  has  a 
peculiar  delight  in  contemplating  the  origin  of 
things,  and  in  seeing  them  rise  to  vigor^  This 
is  so  in  the  growth  of  grain,  plants,  and  trees, 
in  the  beginning  of  revolutions,  in  the  found- 
ing of  empires,  and  in  the  early  struggles  of 
mind  to  rise  to  worth  and  greatness.  But  the 
early  history  of  religious  impressions  has  vast 
interest,  from  the  fact  that  it  is  the  soul  that  is 
then  saved  and  restored  to  communion  with 
Grod.  Cecil  says,  "The  history  of  a  man's 
life  is  to  himself  the  most  interesting  history 
in  the  world,  next  to  that  of  the  Scriptures." 
The  reason  is  that  it  is  a  detailed  account  of 
what  he  has  learned  in  the  school  of  experi- 
ence. 

AWAKENING. 

The  work  of  God  for  the  recovery  of  the 
soul  of  man  begins  in  what  is  fitly  spoken  of 


22  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

as  an  awaheimig.  A  revival  of  religion  a  cen- 
tury ago  was  often  so  called.  It  was  a  good 
name.  It  described  an  effect  produced  both 
on  saints  and  sinners.  The  term  seems  to  be 
scriptural.  *'It  is  high  time  to  awake  out  of 
sleep.''  ''Awake  to  righteousness,  and  sin  not." 
"Awake  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the 
dead,  and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light."  Eom. 
13  :  11 ;  1  Cor.  15  :  34  ;  Eph.  5  :  14.  The  pe- 
culiar fitness  of  this  mode  of  speaking  arises 
from  Jhe  fact  that  the  stupor  of  a  sinful  state 
is  aptly  compared  to  sleep.  That  sleep  is 
guilty.  It  is  also  i^rofound.  It  is  like  the 
sleep  of  death,  from  which  none  awake  but  by 
the  power  of  God.  Indulged  a  little  longer,  it 
will  prove  fatal.  There  is  a  time  when  every 
subject  of  divine  grace  is  awaked  from  spirit- 
ual lethargy.  This  awakening  is  sometimes  so 
gentle,  that  its  commencement  can  hardly  be 
fixed  to  any  date.  Again,  it  at  once  arouses> 
the  whole  soul.  It  has  often  been  noticed, 
that  in  some  cases  it  is  preceded  by  peculiar 
tlioughtlossncss,  or  even  by  outbreaking  wick* 
cdness.  But  when  God's  time  has  come,  he 
effectually  arouses  the  soul,  and  makes  his 
arrows  sharp  in  the  heart  of  the  King's  enemies. 
The  means  employed  to  this  end  are  various. 


RELIGIOUS  IMPRESSIONS.  23 

God  often  puts  great  honor  on  the  very  words 
of  Scripture.  ''  The  word  of  God  is  quick,  and 
powerful;  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged 
sword,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder 
of  soul  and  spirit,  and  of  the  joints  and  mar- 
row, and  is  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts  and 
intents  of  the  heart.'^  Heb.  4 :  12.  ''  The  law 
of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  converting  the  soul." 
Psa.  19:7.  Sometimes  the  mere  reading  of 
God's  word  is  blessed  to  this  end ;  and  if  men 
could  be  prevailed  on  to  examine  and  ponder 
its  truths  more  than  they  do,  they  would  oftener 
begin  the  search  for  a  Saviour.  Even  of  the 
darkest  book  of  the  New  Testament  it  is  said, 
''Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they  that 
hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy,  and  keep 
those  things  which  are  written  therein.''  Eev. 
1:3.  Some  writers  of  the  seventeenth  century 
notice  the  fact  that  God  honored  the  phrase, 
"And  he  died,"  which  occurs  so  often  in  the 
fifth  chapter  of  Genesis,  to  the  awakening  of  a 
great  sinner.  It  is  an  interesting  exercise  in 
which  little  circles,  composed  of  religious  peo- 
ple, sometimes  engage,  to  inquire  what  portion 
of  God's  word  was  thus  first  deeply  impressed 
on  the  mind  of  each  one. 

The  word  of  God  preached  is  still  more 


24:  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

frequently  blessed  to  the  same  end.  Thus 
many  thousands  were  awakened  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost.  Modern  times  give  us  instances  of 
many  hundreds  impressed  under  one  gospel 
sermon.  The  church  of  God  still  sings,  ''How 
beautiful  are  the  feet  of  them  that  preach  the 
gospel  of  peace,  and  bring  glad  tidings  of  good 
things."  "Faith  cometh  hy  hearing,  and  hear- 
ing by  the  word  of  God."     Rom.  10 :  15,  17. 

Uninspired  writings,  which  contain  sound 
Bible  princii^les  and  urge  divine  things  on  the 
attention  with  great  tenderness  and  solemnity, 
are  often  greatly  blessed  to  men's  salvation. 
They  awake  them  out  of  sleep,  and  bring  into 
exercise  all  their  faculties.  It  is  therefore  a 
good  thing  to  circulate  good  books.  The  author 
has  known  five  persons  in  one  neighborhood 
brought  to  deep  concern,  and  finally  to  a  hope 
in  Christ,  by  reading  the  first  part  of  Dod- 
dridge's Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion  in  the 
Soul. 

Sometimes  God  arouses  men  from  their 
guilty  slumbers  by  some  startling  providence 
or  some  awful  judgment.  The  sudden  death  of 
some  loved  one  starts  in  the  mind  of  the  sur- 
vivor the  question.  Where  should  I  now  be,  if 
I  had  been  called  so  soon  or  with  so  little 


RELIGIOUS  IMPRESSIONS.  25 

warning?  "When  thy  judgments  are  in  the 
earth,  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  will  learn 
righteousness."  Isa.  26:9.  Personal  afflic- 
tion is  sometimes  sanctified  to  the  same  end. 
In  a  respectable  Christian  church,  not  long 
since,  every  official  member  was  known  to 
have  been  a  thoughtless  worldling  until  God's 
hand  was  laid  heavily  upon  him.  Many  a 
child  of  God  now  says,  ''Before  I  was  afflict- 
ed I  went  astray;  but  now  have  I  kept  thy 
word.  It  is  good  for  me  that  I  have  been 
afflicted;  that  I  might  learn  thy  statutes." 
Psa.  119:67,  71.  ''In  their  affliction  they 
will  seek  me  early."  Hos.  5  :  15.  Manasseh 
went  heedlessly  and  brutally  on  in  a  course  of 
crime  and  cruelty  until  dreadful  calamities 
overtook  him.  Then  he  "prayed,  and  God 
was  entreated  of  him."     2  Chron.  33  :  13. 

Sometimes  a  pious  conversation,  a  kind 
and  friendly  admonition,  a  hint  droj)ped  in 
love,  a  word  fitly  spoken,  has  the  same  effect. 
A  profane  oath,  an  act  of  injustice,  a  debauch, 
or  some  other  sin,  has  filled  a  man's  soul  with 
such  horror  that  he  has  had  no  peace  until  he 
fled  to  Christ.  To  show  his  power,  God  may 
make  any  of  our  sins  to  flash  condemnation  in 
our  face,  thus  fulfilling  the  scripture,  "Thine 

vital  Oodlinees.  2 


26  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

own  wickedness  shall  correct  thee.''  Jer. 
2:19. 

A  powerful  means  of  arousing  men  to 
attend  to  their  souls'  affairs  is  the  conversion 
of  their  fellows,  and  especially  of  notorious 
sinners.  Our  Lord  himself  speaks  as  though 
he  regarded  this  as  the  loudest  kind  of  call: 
"  The  publicans  and  the  harlots  believed  John ; 
and  ye,  when  ye  had  seen  it,  repented  not 
afterward,  that  ye  might  believe  him."  Matt. 
21 :  32.  When  rightly  considered,  the  conver- 
sion of  a  fellow-creature  is  well  suited  to  call  up 
the  attention  of  every  candidate  for  eternity. 

Frequently,  however,  men  can  give  no 
minute  account  of  the  causes  or  beginnings  of 
their  increased  attention  to  religion.  Nor  is  it 
necessary  that  they  should.  A  man  may  not 
know  the  steps  or  causes  of  his  recovery  from 
sickness,  and  yet  he  may  now  be  a  well  man. 
Often  too  there  is  at  first  nothing  very  clear  in 
the  state  of  mind  of  one  who  is  beginning  to 
turn  to  God.  Nothing  indeed  so  much  inter- 
ests him  as  the  general  subject  of  salvation. 
He  sees  its  importance ;  he  owns  its  necessity. 
The  mind  also  often  spends  its  chief  thoughts 
for  a  season  on  one  sin,  or  one  point  of  truth, 
and  this  serves  as  a  key  to  many  others. 


RELIGIOUS  IMPEESSIONS.  27 

In  this  state  of  awakened  interest,  the 
course  of  thought  pursued  is  as  much  in  accord- 
ance with  the  laws  of  mind,  and  is  in  this  sense 
as  natural,  as  in  any  period  of  one's  history ; 
so  that  the  man  greatly  wonders  that  he  never 
before  saw  things  on  this  wise.  He  greatly 
marvels,  and  well  he  may,  that  his  mind  could 
so  long  be  utterly  dead  to  the  things  of  salva- 
tion. Although  he  may  not  yet  be  the  subject 
of  a  saving  change,  yet  the  frame  of  his  soul 
is  very  different  from  what  it  was.  Never 
before  was  he  in  such  a  state,  for  he  has  now 
fairly  entered  upon  a  course  of 

EELIGIOUS  BEFLECTION. 

The  power  of  reflection  is  that  which  chiefly 
distinguishes  a  man  from  a  brute;  and  the 
habit  of  reflection,  more  than  any  thing  else, 
distinguishes  a  wise  man  from  a  fool.  He 
must  be  given  over  to  folly  who  never  looks  at 
the  remote  bearings  and  consequences  of  his 
actions.  Things  may  easily  be  done  which 
can  never  be  undone.  The  silliest  may  plunge 
himself  into  ruin.  There  is  no  wise  man  who 
is  not  considerate.  The  rash,  light,  heedless 
must  expect  in  all  weighty  matters  to  go 
astray.     Reflection  is  important  in  proportion 


28  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

to  the  gravity  of  the  matter  on  which  we  are 
called  to  exercise  it.  As  religion  is  the  most 
important  theme  on  which  the  human  mind  is 
ever  fixed,  so  above  all  other  topics  human 
salvation  calls  for  thought,  care,  reflection. 
True  religion  is  as  reasonable  as  it  is  neces- 
sary. To  be  pious  without  thoughtfulness  is 
not  possible.  No  one  acts  so  wisely  as  he  w^ho 
counts  the  cost,  looks  well  to  his  state,  and 
entirely  consecrates  himself  to  God.  In  their 
most  solemn  appeals,  the  Scriptures  address 
man  as  rational:  ''0  that  they  would  consid- 
er." "Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  Consider 
your  ways."  *'I  speak  as  to  wise  men;  judge 
ye  what  I  say."  Deut.  32:29;  Hag.  1:7; 
1  Cor.  10:15. 

Every  stage  of  serious  reflection  is  liable 
to  many  interruptions.  Yet  where  God  has 
begun  a  work  of  grace  in  the  soul,  the  mind 
will  not  fall  into  continued  thoughtlessness. 
God  will  employ  suitable  means  to  keep  the 
attention  awake.  Perhaps  he  will  make  the 
example  of  the  righteous  at  once  a  reproof 
and  an  encouragement,  and  that  of  the  wicked 
a  warning  and  a  cause  of  alarm  to  the  soul 
ready  to  settle  on  its  lees.  The  conduct  of 
the  worldly  or  profane  is  often  held  before  the 


RELIGIOUS  IMPRESSIONS.  29 

mind  as  a  mirror,  in  wliicli  one  sees  reflected 
the  wickedness  of  his  own  life.  If  God  has 
not  yet  shown  to  the  soul  the  beauty  of  holi- 
ness, he  at  least  enables  one  to  see  that  the 
truly  pious  possess  many  advantages,  and 
awakens  a  desire  to  secure  them.  It  is  a  point 
gained  when  one  clearly  perceives  that  the 
servant  of  God  is  the  better  man.  So  that  in 
the  midst  of  company  and  lawful  employments 
one  often  finds  his  thoughts  eagerly  turned  to 
everlasting  things.  This  is  proof  that  God  has 
not  abandoned  him  to  the  power  of  all  evil. 
Under  such  circumstances  the  talkative  man 
will  be  inclined  to  silence  and  seriousness. 
He  will  look  at  the  past,  think  of  the  life  he 
has  led,  recount  God's  mercies  to  him,  review 
many  parts  of  his  conduct  with  pain,  and  say. 
If  I  had  my  life  to  live  over  again,  I  would  not 
do  as  I  have  done.  I  am  an  unhappy  man. 
My  state  is  sinful.  Possibly  I  may  be  nigh  to 
a  miserable  death  or  an  undone  eternity.  I 
cannot  justify  my  present  course  of  life.  I  am 
not  fit  to  die.  I  am  not  holy.  Sin  is  deeply 
rooted  in  my  nature.  Without  a  great  change 
of  character,  I  shall  never  be  what  I  ought. 

Looking  at  the  future,  he  remembers  that 
lie  must  live  for  ever,  that  ere  long  death  will 


30  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

summon  him  into  the  presence  of  his  Maker, 
and  that  without  a  change  in  his  character  and 
prospects,  he  must  pass  from  the  solemnities 
of  his  lone  interview  with  God  to  the  retribu- 
tions of  an  unblessed  eternity.  *By  this  time 
he  has  probably  become  a  habitual  reader  of 
the  Bible  and  of  other  religious  books.  Al- 
though sinful  shame  has  still  much  power  over 
him,  yet  he  thinks  prayer  useful  and  obliga- 
tory. A  fit  place  of  retirement,  suitable  words 
to  be  used,  and  more  than  all,  a  suitable  frame 
of  mind,  seem  to  him  to  be  wanting.  It  will 
be  well  for  him  if  Satan  does  not  prevail  on 
him  at  first  quite  to  restrain  pra}' er.  A  young 
man  under  serious  impressions  once  retired  to 
his  room,  locked  his  door,  closed  the  shutters, 
and  was  about  to  pray,  when  he  thought  some 
one  might  see  him  through  the  keyhole.  He 
went  to  cover  that,  when  a  band  of  music  be- 
gan to  play  under  his  window.  His  attention 
was  drawn  off.  He  offered  no  prayer  then. 
His  seriousness  left  him.  Let  men  be  warned 
by  such  a  case.  Men  must  call  upon  God  or 
perish.  "  Let  sinners  learn  to  pray."  He  who 
is  effectually  diverted  from  prayer,  is  hopeless- 
ly involved  in  guilt. 

Led  by  God's  Spirit,  a  soul  thus  awakened 


BELIGIOUS  IMPEESSIONS.  31 

and  brought  to  reflection  finds  out  much  of 
the  vanity  of  earthly  things.  His  sense  of 
their  fleeting  duration,  and  of  their  unsatisfy- 
ing nature,  is  deep  and  strong.  Once  he  called 
them  the  chief  good.  Now  he  sees  that  they 
are  vain,  empty,  delusory.  He  sees  that  his 
pursuit  of  them  has  been  both  foolish  and  sin- 
ful. The  merriment  which  once  filled  him 
with  delight  now  grieves  him  to  the  heart. 

By  this  time  he  begins  to  wonder  what 
these  things  mean,  and  how  they  will  termi- 
nate. Preaching  has  a  strange  effect  on  him. 
The  words  of  truth  have  a  peculiar  pungency. 
He  is  surprised  to  find  another  exactly  de- 
scribing his  thoughts  and  feelings.  Sometimes 
he  suspects  that  some  one  has  informed  the 
minister  of  Christ  of  his  unhappy  state.  At 
times  he  feels  a  momentary  anger  that  the 
secrets  of  his  heart  should  be  thus  exposed; 
but  a  good  conscience  will  show  him  that  the 
fault  is  in  himself. 

Not  unfrequently  one  in  this  state  is  beset 
with  sceptical  thoughts.  They  are  a  great 
annoyance  to  him ;  but  his  efforts  to  get  rid  of 
them  are  unsuccessful.  They  are  the  natural 
fruit  of  his  corrupt  and  unbelieving  heart. 
Nothing  belongs  more  properly  to  an  unregen- 


32  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

erate  state.  He  has  wickedly  cherished  them 
for  a  long;  time.  The  habit  of  unbelief  has 
grown  inveterate. 

The  best  means  to  be  used  for  overcoming 
these  infidel  temptations  will  be  hearty  prayer 
and  the  simple  reading  of  God's  word.  The 
gospel  is  its  own  witness.  The  word  of  God 
is  life  and  spirit.  Nothing  so  directly  and  for- 
cibly attacks  sin.  Yet  no  means  possess  inhe- 
rent and  adequate  efficacy.  God  alone  can 
cast  out  this  devil  of  uncleanness  and  scepti- 
cism. Hence  the  necessity  of  fervent  prayer. 
If  the  Lord  should  leave  one  in  this  doleful 
state  of  unbelief,  his  destruction  would  be 
inevitable,  but  it  would  be  just. 

One  who  has  been  brought  thus  far  may 
be  sorely  tempted  to  give  up  both  the  hope 
and  the  pursuit  of  salvation.  Seeing  himself 
very  far  short  of  what  he  ought  to  be,  he  fears 
that  he  may  never  become  a  Christian.  Should 
such  fears  prevail,  he  will  sink  into  the  inert- 
ness of  despondency.  Yet  if  God  purposes  to 
grant  him  salvation,  he  will  not  allow  him  to 
consent  to  the  tempter.  A  kindly  influence 
in  his  heart  will  urge  him  to  flee  from  the 
wrath  to  come.  He  will  feel  that  he  cannot 
turn  back.      Nor  can  he  stand  still.     He  is 


EELiaiOUS  IMPEESSIONS.  33 

afraid  of  the  avenger  of  blood.  He  has  hope 
that  he  shall  yet  be  in  the  city  of  refuge. 
Sometimes  fears  almost  overwhelm  him;  but 
yet  they  are  not  allowed  quite  to  prevail 
against  him.  This  state  of  mind  is  followed 
by  religious  inquiry. 


2« 


34  VITAL  GODLINESS. 


CHAPTER   III. 

EAKLY   RELIGIOUS   IMPEESSIONS— 

CONTINUED. 

BELIGIOUS  INQUIEY. 

Religious  inquiry  naturally  succeeds  re- 
flection. The  three  thousand  converted  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost  were  all  honest  and  earnest 
inquirers:  ''Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we 
do?"  Acts  2  :  37.  The  same  was  true  of  Saul 
of  Tarsus  :  "Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to 
do?"  Acts  9  :  6.  So  also  the  jailer  cried, 
''Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  Acts 
16  :  30.  It  cannot  be  otherwise  with  the  truly 
awakened.  An}^  man  in  deep  distress  and 
ignorant  of  the  true  method  of  deliverance, 
will  naturally  and  earnestly  desire  instruction. 
The  truly  anxious  soul  will  cry  to  God  for  di- 
vine guidance  :  Teach  me  thy  statutes  ;  lead 
me  in  a  i)lain  path  ;  let  me  not  err  from  thy 
ways  ;  my  Father,  be  thou  my  guide.  He 
will  also  search  the  Scriptures  with  a  sincere 
desire  to  know  their  teachings.  He  will  ask 
the  pilgrims  to  Zion  and  the  ministers  of  the 
gospel  to  show  him  the  way  to  the  hill  of  the 


EELIGIOUS  IMPKESSIONS.  35 

Lord.  Sometimes  he  finds  poor  counsellors, 
who  but  perplex  or  mislead  him.  But  the 
best  directions  that  can  be  given  him  are 
either  not  understood  or  not  followed,  until  he 
is  led  by  the  Spirit  of  all  truth.  I  have  known 
an  intelligent  man  to  send  seven  hundred  miles 
for  a  printed  sermon  which  had  been  useful  to 
one  of  his  friends,  in  the  hope  that  it  might 
show  him  also  the  way  of  life. 

The  chief  ingredient  of  this  inquiry,  when 
it  is  likely  to  result  in  saving  good,  is  its  sin- 
cerity. The  young  ruler  asked  our  Lord  a 
very  weighty  question  and  in  a  very  earnest 
manner  ;  but  as  soon  as  he  got  the  full  an- 
swer, he  went  away  exceeding  sorrowful.  Saul 
of  Tarsus  cried,  ''Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have 
me  to  do?'^  As  soon  as  he  received  the  an- 
swer, he  obeyed  the  voice  of  Christ.  There  is 
no  substitute  for  genuine  sincerity.  The  lack 
of  it  spoils  every  thing. 

True,  hearty  inquiry  is  soon  followed  by 

GOOD  KESOLUTIONS. 

Within  the  present  century  some  have 
taught  that  a  change  of  the  governing  purpose 
was  the  great  essential  of  salvation.  The 
practical  result  on  many  was  a  belief  that  if 
they   resolved   to  be   Christians,    they  were 


36  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Christians.  This  greatly  damaged  the  cause 
of  Christ  and  injured  men's  souls.  In  oppos- 
ing it,  perhaps  some  went  to  the  opposite  ex- 
treme. It  is  not  consistent  with  the  laws  of 
the  human  mind  to  undertake  and  execute 
any  great  work  without  a  purpose  of  heart  so* 
to  do.  Accordingly  he  whose  case  we  are 
considering,  resolves  to  forsake  some  known 
or  open  sins,  to  avoid  profane  language,  com- 
pany, and  practices,  or  to  perform  certain 
known  duties.  But  he  now  learns  how  diffi- 
cult it  is  for  him,  who  is  accustomed  to  do  evil, 
to  learn  to  do  well.  The  usefulness  of  forming 
resolutions  depends  very  much  on  the  state  of 
heart  accompanying  them.  When  made  in  a 
spirit  of  self-righteousness,  or  under  a  vain 
persuasion  that  we  may  thus  commend  our- 
selves to  God,  they  are  of  no  use.  Purposes 
formed  in  a  spirit  of  self-dependence  vanish 
before  temptation  as  walls  of  snow  melt  away 
before  a  vernal  sun.  Eesolutions  formed  in 
gross  ignorance,  in  thoughtlessness,  or  in  vain- 
glory, profit  not.  We  should  never  resolve  to 
do  an  impossibility.  Yet  no  man  amends  his 
ways  without  forming  a  purpose  to  that  effect. 
A  sound  mind  first  lays  its  plan,  and  then  ex- 
ecutes it.    Only  madmen  live  without  method. 


KELIGIOUS  IMPBESSIONS.  37 

The  prodigal's  return  to  duty  and  the  home  of 
his  youth  was  preceded  by  the  resolution,  ''I 
will  arise  and  go  to  my  father.''  The  resolu- 
-"tions  of  the  elder  President  Edwards  doubt- 
less exerted  a  happy  influence  on  his  subse- 
quent life.  They  are  remarkable  for  sobriety. 
John  Caspar  Christian  Lavater,  an  eminent 
servant  of  Christ,  died  at  Zurich  in  Switzer- 
land, A.  D.  1799.  He  has  left  some  sober  and 
practical  resolutions,  which  are  but  little  known. 
They  are  : 

"I  will  never,  either  in  the  morning  or 
evening,  proceed  to  any  business,  until  I  have 
first  retired,  at  least  for  a  few  moments,  to  a 
private  place,  and  imjDlored  God  for  his  assist- 
ance and  blessing. 

"I  will  neither  do  nor  undertake  any  thing 
which  I  would  abstain  from  doing  if  Jesus 
Christ  were  standing  visibly  before  me,  nor 
any  of  which  I  think  it  possible  that  I  shall 
repent  in  the  uncertain  hour  of  my  certain 
death.  I  will,  with  the  divine  aid,  accustom 
myself  to  do  every  thing  without  exceptio  i  in 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  as  his  disciple 
I  will  sigh  to  God  continually  for  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  preserve  myself  in  a  constant  dispo- 
sition for  prayer. 


38  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

''Every  day  shall  be  distinguished  by  at 
least  one  particular  work  of  love. 

''Every  day  I  will  be  especially  attentive 
to  promote  the  benefit  and  advantage  of  my 
own  family  in  particular. 

"I  will  never  eat  or  drink  so  much  as  shall 
occasion  to  me  the  least  inconvenience  or  hin- 
dcrance  in  my  business.  Wherever  I  go,  I 
will  first  pray  to  God  that  I  may  commit  no 
sin  there,  but  be  the  cause  of  some  good. 

"I  will  never  lie  down  to  sleep  without 
praying,  nor,  when  I  am  in  health,  sleep  lon- 
ger than  eight  hours  at  most. 

"  I  will  every  evening  examine  my  con- 
duct through  the  day  by  these  rules,  and  faith- 
fully note  down  in  my  journal  how  often  I  of- 
fend against  them." 

The  Scriptures  tell  us  of  many  who  formed 
solemn  resolutions.  Joshua  said,  "As  for  me 
and  my  house,  we  will  serve  the  Lord."  The 
Psalms  abound  with  solemn  purposes:  "I  will 
love  thee,  0  Lord,  my  strength;"  "I  will  call 
upon  the  Lord,  who  is  worthy  to  be  praised ;" 
"I  said,  I  will  take  h^ed  to  my  ways,  that  I 
sin  not  with  my  tongue;"  "I  will  hope  contin- 
ually, and  will  yet  praise  thee  more  and  more ;" 
"  I  will  remember  thy  wonders  of  old.     I  will 


BELIGIOUS  IMPBESSIONS.  39 

meditate  also  of  all  thy  work,  and  talk  of  thy 
doings  f  ''I  will  call  upon  him  as  long  as  I 
live  f  ''I  will  keep  thy  statutes."  If  you  form 
resolutions,  there  can  be  no  valid  objection 
against  writing  them  down.  If  formed,  they 
should  be  intelligible,  humble,  well  weighed, 
well  understood,  practicable,  and  adopted  with 
caution,  prayer,  and  deep  solemnity.  When 
a  resolution  is  made,  it  should  be  kept.  ''Yow 
and  pay  unto  the  Lord."  He  hath  "no  pleas- 
ure in  fools." 

But  a  soul,  in  its  first  drawings  towards 
divine  things,  finds  it  easier  to  resolve  than  to 
execute.  Its  resolutions  seem  in  a  great  meas- 
ure to  fail.  One  washes  himself  in  snow-water, 
but  God  plunges  him  in  the  ditch,  and  his  own 
clothes  abhor  him.  He  finds  that  an  external 
remedy  will  not  cure  an  internal  disease.  Un- 
der the  pungent  preaching  of  the  truth,  his  sins 
appear  fearfully  numerous  and  heinous.  He 
loses  the  boasting  spirit  of  self- exaltation  which 
h^  once  had.  His  eye  gives  way  when  you 
speak  to  him  of  serious  matters. 

Even  with  his  kindred,  his  chief  thoughts 
relate  to  salvation.  If  any  of  them  are  pious, 
he  will  seek  an  opportunity  to  disclose  his  state 
of  mind.    If  they  are  ungodly,  he  will  be  pained 


40  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

by  their  wickedness.  His  thoughts  on  the  les- 
sons of  piety  tanght  him  by  his  parents  deeply 
affect  him.  If  any  of  his  friends  have  died  in 
faith,  he  thinks  of  their  example,  and  would 
fain  follow  their  footsteps. 

Meanwhile  the  world  recedes  from  his  view, 
and  his  prospects  for  the  future  seem  to  be 
under  an  eclipse.  Once  all  seemed  gay  and 
dazzling  before  him  ;  but  now  the  things  of 
time  are  growing  less  and  less.  As  the  coast 
of  his  native  land  fades  from  the* view  of  the 
mariner  going  out  to  sea,  so  the  scenes,  the 
business,  the  attractions  of  earth  are  one  by 
one  lost  to  the  view  of  a  soul  under  the  grow- 
ing influence  of  divine  truth.  Such  a  process 
awakens  feelings  of  sadness  and  desolation. 
By  night,  on  his  bed,  he  is  restless  and  uncom- 
fortable. His  sleep  is  neither  sound  nor  re- 
freshing. Sometimes  he  is  afraid  to  go  to  sleep, 
lest  he  should  not  awake  in  this  world.  He 
is  troubled  in  visions  of  the  night.  And  when 
he  awakes,  his  heart  is  still  heavy.  The  sub- 
jects of  sin  and  salvation  still  press  upon  him 
and  hold  his  attention.  At  night  he  wishes  it 
were  morning,  and  in  the  morning  he  wishes 
it  were  night. 

Sometimes  he  is  suddenly  surprised  into 


EELIGIOUS  IMPEESSIONS.  41 

sin,  and  finds  that  all  his  hopes  of  being  al- 
ready beyond  the  reach  of  evil  are  vain.  He 
is  amazed  at  his  own  weakness  and  inability  to 
resist  temptations.  He  mends  his  wall  and 
daubs  it  with  untempered  mortar  as  before, 
and  the  Lord  again  rends  it,  and  makes  his 
soul  sick  at  its  own  follies.  But  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  cure  him  of  the  belief  that  he  can 
yet  do  something  to  purpose. 

In  this  state  of  mind  he  wishes  the  pious 
would  converse  with  him  on  his  souFs  affairs, 
and  yet  he  has  a  dread  of  such  a  thing.  He  is 
willing  to  be  instructed,  and  yet  he  is  reluc- 
tant to  walk  in  the  way  when  he  knows  it. 
Sometimes  he  thinks  he  would  give  any  thing 
for  a  new  heart,  and  yet  he  will  not  make  a 
full  surrender.  He  would  like  to  wear  the 
linen  white  and  clean,  but  he  will  not  cast 
away  the  filthy  rags  of  his  own  righteousness. 
In  fine,  his  mind  seems  to  be  in  a  very  con- 
tradictory state.  He  seems  greatly  humbled, 
but  he  will  not  take  upon  him  Christ's  yoke. 
He  seems  much  inclined  to  the  service  of  God, 
and  3^et  he  is  led  captive  by  sin. 

If  any  ask  what  will  be  the  result  of  all 
these  thoughts  and  exercises,  the  answer  is 
that  they  will  either  lead  to  peace  with  God, 


42  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

or  to  deeper  guilt  than  ever  before  rested  on 
the  soul.  These  thoughts  will  either  lead  the 
soul  to  Christ,  or  they  will  leave  it  oppressed 
with  unutterable  criminality.  He  who  thus 
feels  will  soon  be  a  child  of  God,  or  twofold 
more  the  child  of  evil  than  ever.  He  will 
soon  have  a  broken  heart,  or  a  heart  fearfully 
hardened  ;  a  will  sweetly  submissive  to  God, 
or  fearfully  perverse  and  obstinate.  Such  in- 
fluences as  he  is  now  under  cannot  be  felt  and 
the  soul  remain  unaffected.  They  will  produce 
vast  good  or  prodigious  evil. 

Nor  can  any  thing  but  great  wickedness 
prevent  a  sound  and  speedy  conversion  to 
God.  Self-murder,  self-murder  will  be  the 
awful  sound  that  will  ring  for  ever  in  the  ears 
of  such  as  are  moved  in  the  manner  described, 
and  yet  shall  die  impenitent.  "  0  Israel,  thou 
hast  destroyed  thyself;  but  in  me  is  thy  help." 

It  is  always  safe  and  scriptural  to  urge 
persons  thus  exercised  to  make  direct  and  im- 
mediate application  to  the  Saviour.  Let  them 
come,  though  blind  and  naked,  vile  and  guilty, 
helpless  and  miserable.  Let  none  wait  in  an 
idle  expectation  that  the  terms  of  salvation 
will  be  altered.  God  draws  all  his  true  peo- 
ple, but  he  will  drag  none  to  heaven  contrary 


EELIGIOUS  IMPEESSIONS.  43 

to  tlicir  wills.  The  promise  is,  ''My  people 
shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  my  power."  The 
invitations  of  the  gospel  are  to  the  needy,  the 
wretched,  the  lost.  But  let  no  man  who  is 
still  in  his  sins  suppose  that  he  is  willing  to 
come  to  Christ,  and  that  Christ  is  not  v/illing 
to  receive  him.     The  reverse  is  the  truth. 

Let  not  persons  thus  concerned  about  eter- 
nal things  be  scared  away  from  the  whole  mat- 
ter of  piety  if  they  find  their  own  hearts  des- 
perately wicked.  Every  man's  heart  has  al- 
ways been  more  wicked  than  he  ever  thought 
it  to  be.  He  who  will  not  jDcrmit  his  wounds 
to  be  probed,  must  expect  to  die.  Henry 
Martyn  tells  us  that  when  awakened  to  divine 
things,  he  refused  to  read  Doddridge's  Else 
and  Progress  of  Religion,  because  he  found  the 
first  part  of  it  so  humiliating.  A  discovery  of 
one's  sinfulness  will  not  make  him  sinful,  but  it 
may  lead  to  salvation. 

Let  all  beginning  a  religious  life  expect 
sore  trials.  Satan  is  always  most  busy  with 
those  who  are  struggling  to  escape*  from  his 
dominion.  Men  see  their  own  want  of  heart, 
and  Satan  would  persuade  them  that  all  relig- 
ion is  hypocrisy. 

It  is  to   be  regretted  that  persons  who 


44  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

are  seeking  salvation  slioulcl  be  brought  too 
mncli  into  public  notice.  It  is  to  be  feared 
that  many  talk  away  their  religious  impres- 
sions, or  allow  others  to  do  it.  It  is  when  one 
''sitteth  alone  and  keepeth  silence"  that  he  is 
likely  to  ''put  his  mouth  in  the  dust;  if  so  be 
there  may  be  hope."  Lam.  3  :  28,  29.  In  the 
twelfth  chapter  of  his  prophecy,  verses  9-14, 
Zechariah  describes  the  effect  of  a  general  out- 
pouring of  Grod's  Spirit  as  inclining  all  classes 
to  weep  alone. 

Let  inquirers  after  salvation  beware  of  bad 
company.  ''If  sinners  entice  thee,  consent 
thou  not."  "The  companion  of  fools  shall  be 
destroyed."  Even  in  good  company  there  may 
be  excess.  But  all  bad  company  is  danger- 
ous. To  avoid  all  commerce  with  the  wicked 
is  neither  obligatory  nor  practicable.  But 
between  civil  intercourse  and  companionship 
there  is  a  wide  difference. 

It  would  be  a  great  thing  if  those  who  are 
not  Christians  could  be  led  to  entertain  some 
just  senscf  of  the  evil  of  sin.  Oh  that  the  wick- 
ed knew  the  import  of  those  words  of  Francis 
Spira:  "  Man  knows  the  beginning  of  sin,  but 
who  bounds  the  issues  tliereof  ?"  It  is  easy  to 
do  mischief,  but  who  can  undo  it  ?    To  sin  is 


EELIGIOUS  IMPRESSIONS.  45 

natural ;  but  to  escape  from  it  requires  atoning 
blood,  and  the  supernatural  agency  of  God's 
Spirit. 

It  is  always  a  duty  to  urge  men  to  imme- 
diate faith  and  repentance.  ''Behold,  now  is 
the  accepted  time ;  behold,  now  is  the  day  of 
salvation."  Call  on  men  to  do  with  their  might 
whatever  their  hands  find  to  do.  In  his  lives 
of  great  men,  Plutarch  says  of  Hannibal,  that 
when  he  could  have  taken  Eome,  he  would  not ; 
and  when  he  would  have  taken  Eome,  he  could 
not.  It  is  true  of  many,  that  when  they  can 
secure  a  title  to  God's  favor,  they  will  not ;  and 
when  they  wish  to  do  it,  they  cannot  because 
they  have  misspent  all  their  days  of  grace. 


46  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

CHAPTER   lY. 

FUBTHER  STRIYINGS  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

Some  account  has  been  given  of  a  soul 
beginning  to  shake  off  its  guilty  slumbers,  and 
to  turn  its  thoughts  to  the  unspeakable  con- 
cerns of  sin  and  duty,  immortality  and  glory, 
salvation  and  perdition.  One  who  has  had 
the  exercises  of  mind  thus  described  is  certain- 
ly under  the  teachings  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Yet  he  may  have  many  such  thoughts  and 
emotions  without  knowing  their  origin  or  Au- 
thor. In  giving  this  history  of  the  mind's  op- 
erations and  discoveries,  it  is  proper  to  state 
that  ere  this  a  suspicion,  if  not  a  conviction, 
that  God's  Spirit  is  now  at  work  in  the  heart, 
takes  possession  of  the  mind.  Nor  is  this 
without  foundation.  The  fact  is,  that  none 
but  the  Holy  Ghost  could  have  brought  about 
this  great  change  of  views  and  purposes.  I^ 
is  not  easy  to  tell  what  a  solemn  awe  fills  the 
mind  when  first  a  man  is  persuaded  that  he  is 
the  subject  of  supernatural  and  divine  influ- 
ences. The  soul,  like  the  patriarch,  says, 
"Surely  God  is  in  this  place,  and  I  knew  it 


STEIVINGS  OF  THE  SPIEIT.  47 

not."  Such  a  view  hushes  the  soul  into  still- 
ness. It  remembers  God  and  is  troubled.  He 
who  feels  thus  is  inclined  to  silence,  lest  he 
should  do  something  wrong,  and  is  afraid  lest 
he  should  be  deceived,  or  lest  by  thoughtless- 
ness he  should  grieve  the  Spirit  far  from  him, 
and  relapse  into  former  carelessness  and  ini- 
quity. In  this  state  of  mind  he  will  cry,  "Cast 
me  not  away  from  thy  presence,  and  take  not 
thy  Holy  Spirit  from  me.  Uphold  me  with 
thy  free  Spirit."  He  will  now  give  a  decided 
preference  to  pious  company.  He  looks  on 
the  children  of  God  as  the  excellent  of  the 
earth.  Yet  intercourse  with  them  deepens 
discoveries  of  sinfulness  in  his  own  heart. 
When  they  speak  of  joys,  he  longs  for  the 
same.  He  feels  as  if  he  had  nothing  whereof 
to  rejoice.  The  review  of  his  past  life  affords 
him  no  pleasure.  It  is  all  a  dark,  unillumined 
retrospect.  It  is  gloomy,  like  the  shades  of 
death.  He  sees  how  vain  and  empty  has  been 
every  thing  which  he  once  called  happiness. 
He  has  now  found  out  that  the  world  is  a 
cheat.  His  impression  is  that  true  religion 
would  make  him  a  happy  man,  and  he  is  right. 
Sometimes  his  expectation  of  a  speedy  change 
becomes  strong.     He  hopes  he  shall  soon  be  a 


4:8  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Christian.  He  has  an  inextinguishable  thirst 
for  something  which  he  has  never  had.  To 
keep  him  from  despair,  a  little  light  sometimes 
beams  upon  his  path. 

Then  again,  all  his  hopes  of  deliverance 
seem  to  forsake  him.  His  affections  seem  to 
grow  cold.  Even  his  desires  for  any  thing 
good  appear  to  be  languid.  He  is  a  mystery 
to  himself.  He  exceedingly  doubts  whether 
he  shall  ever  be  a  child  of  God.  Thus  hope 
and  fear  alternate.  He  is  restless  and  unhap- 
13y.  He  deeply  regrets  that  he  did  not  long 
since  become  a  Christian,  when  his  heart  was 
less  depraved  and  his  will  less  stubborn.  It 
cuts  him  to  the  heart  to  remember  that  all  this 
sorrow  over  time  misspent  and  opportunities 
lost  is  unavailing.  He  fears  lest  his  present 
call  should  pass  away  unimproved.  Nor  are 
his  apprehensions  wholly  without  foundation, 
for  notwithstanding  all  his  efforts,  his  sins  hang 
over  him  in  all  their  guilt,  number,  and  aggra- 
vations. Nay,  they  seem  to  be  multiplied  and 
magnified.  The  mote  has  become  a  beam,  the 
molehill  a  mountain,  the  rivulet  a  torrent. 
These  things  incline  him  to  solitude,  and  he 
goes  mourning  all  the  day.  He  has  no  heart 
for  the  mirth  of  the  wicked,  for  he  sees  some- 


STKIVINGS  OF  THE  SPIEIT.     49 

thing  of  the  evil  of  sin.  He  is  not  a  partaker 
of  the  joys  of  the  righteous,  and  therefore  he 
feels  not  as  if  between  him  and  them  there 
was  any  warm  or  close  fellowship.  Go  where 
he  may,  he  feels  wretched  and  self-condemned. 
He  wonders  that  God  has  not  long  since  de- 
stroyed him.  He  marvels  that  he  does  not 
now  cut  him  down.  Yet  he  hopes  that  this 
drawing  of  the  Spirit  is  a  token  for  good.  He 
k^ows  that  his  case  is  hopeless  only  when  God 
totally  and  finally  abandons  him  to  the  power 
of  his  sins  and  to  the  guilt  of  his  iniquities. 
Thus  every  motion  of  the  Spirit  in  his  heart  is 
an  argument  against  despair. 

Should  his  wicked  companions  discover  or 
even  suspect  his  state  of  mind,  some  of  them 
will  shun  him,  others  will  be  alarmed,  and  yet 
others  will  scoff  at  him.  These  will  raise  the 
old  cry,  ''Wilt  thou  also  be  his  disciple?" 
Some  will  ask  him  if  he  is  willing  to  give  up 
all  his  pleasures  ;  others  will  seek  to  allure  him 
into  forbidden  paths;  others  will  say.  He  is 
beside  himself.  But  if  God  intends  to  bring 
him  to  a  settled  and  renewed  state,  these 
things  will  deepen  his  distress  and  his  views 
of  the  state  of  sin  and  misery  into  which  he  is 
plunged. 

vital  Godliness.  3 


50  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

At  the  commencement  of  his  seriousness  he 
had  many  crude  opinions.  Perhaps  he  thought 
he  never  would  become  a  member  of  the 
church,  but  that  he  would  be  religious  in  a 
private  way.  Now  he  wishes  that  he  was  fit 
to  be  numbered  among  Grod's  people.  Or  he 
once  thought  that  if  any  great  change  ever 
came  over  him,  it  must  be  either  very  sudden- 
ly or  very  gradually.  Now  he  would  be  happy 
to  be  converted  in  any  way  that  the  Lotd 
might  choose.  He  now  probably  supposes  his 
failure  is  owing  to  the  want  of  more  system  in 
his  plan  of  proceeding;  and  so  he  adopts  a 
rule  for  reading  so  much  every  day,  or  he  de- 
termines to  pray  with  more  frequency,  or  with 
more  outward  signs  of  humiliation.  But  all 
proves  unsatisfactory:  he  finds  he  can  no 
more  chain  his  thoughts  than  he  can  bind  the 
wind ;  that  he  can  no  more  bend  his  will  than 
he  can  grasp  the  sun;  that  he  can  no  more 
repent  or  believe  than  do  the  most  impossible 
thing,  if  he  is  wholly  left  to  his  own  energies. 
He  is  now  experiencing  what  Paul  felt:  *'I 
was  alive  without  the  law  once ;  but  when  the 
commandment  came,  sin  revived,  and  I  died. 
And  the  commandment  which  was  ordained  to 
life,  I  found  to  be  unto  death.    For  sin,  taking 


STRIVINGS  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  51 

occasion  by  the  commandment,  deceived  me, 
and  by  it  slew  me."  Eom.  7:9-11.  The 
law,  like  a  lamp  brought  into  a  dark  and  filthy 
room,  has  disclosed  the  wretched  state  of  the 
soul.  What  the  law  requires  is  found  to  be 
wanting.  What  it  forbids  is  seen  to  be  pres- 
ent. Sin  begins  to  be  regarded  as  sinful.  It 
alarmingly  abounds.  One  thus  distressed, 
feeling  the  bitterness  in  his  own  soul,  is  almost 
sure  that  others  must  know  his  sad  state.  He 
wonders  that  Christians  do  not  speak  to  him 
of  his  spiritual  interests.  He  says,  ''No  man 
careth  for  my  soul.''  Like  the  prodigal,  he  is 
ready  to  perish,  and  no  man  gives  unto  him. 
He  is  amazed  that  some  professors  should  be 
so  absorbed  with  trifles  and  vanities  of  earth, 
while  things  of  eternal  moment  press  on  his 
mind  with  such  weight. 

Should  he  fall  in  with  a  bigoted  sectarian, 
more  intent  on  making  a  proselyte  to  a  party 
than  on  saving  a  soul  from  death,  he  may  for 
a  while  be  perplexed ;  but  unless  God  should 
forsake  him,  he  will  not  in  the  end  be  much 
influenced  by  him.  The  necessities  of  a  soul 
thus  pressed  with  guilt  are  too  urgent  to  per- 
mit it  to  be  absorbed  with  forms  and  names 
and  pomps  and  shadows.     The  fiery  sectary 


62  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

will  soon  be  shunned.  He  was  asked  for 
bread,  and  he  gave  a  stone.  He  was  asked 
for  a  fish,  and  he  gave  a  serpent.  A  poor 
soul,  like  the  hunted  hart  on  the  mountain,  is 
thirsting  for  living  waters,  and  cares  not  for 
the  strifes  of  words  and  the  disputes  of  proud 
reasoners.  He  who  is  dying  of  thirst  w^ants 
water,  and  nothing  else.  It  is  a  glorious  sight 
when  God's  Spirit  triumphs  over  the  efforts  of 
bigotry  and  formalism  and  fanaticism,  and 
brings  a  soul  safely  through  their  enticements. 

One  thing  is  now  apparent :  it  is  that 
God's  word  is  no  longer  a  dead  letter.  It  has 
power  and  pungency.  There  is  a  disposition 
to  apply  the  truth.  Texts  which  once  exerted 
no  power  over  the  mind  have  a  keen  edge.  It 
seems  to  this  man  strange  that  he  should  not 
long  since  have  yielded  to  the  force  of  consid- 
erations which  now  have  so  vast  an  influence 
over  him.  Preaching  has  great  point.  '  In- 
deed, it  seems  to  him  that  sermons  are  laying 
open  the  secrets  of  his  heart.  Sometimes  he 
suspects  ministers  of  indulging  in  personalities, 
when  they  know  nothing  of  his  sore  distress. 

He  will  now  seek  any  book  that  he  hears 
of  as  suited  to  his  state  of  mind.  But  if  it  is 
sound  and  discriminating,  while  it  enlightens^ 


STRIVINGS  OF  THE  SPIRIT.     63 

it  also  distresses  him.  He  wishes  he  could  be 
exempt  from  worldly  cares,  that  he  might  give 
undivided  attention  to  more  important  con- 
cerns. When  he  hears  of  others  obtaining  a 
joyful  hope  in  Christ,  he  is  tempted  to  have 
hard  thoughts  of  God  because  he  finds  no  re- 
lief. But  if  God  intends  to  bring  him  to  a 
saving  experience,  he  will  show  him  the  wick- 
edness of  all  such  charges  against  his  Maker 
and  his  Sovereign.  "Be  still,  and  know  that 
I  am  God."  ''  The  Lord  is  greatly  to  be 
feared." 

He  now  finds  himself  involved  in  doubt 
and  darkness.  He  knows  nothing  as  he  ought 
to  know  it.  He  longs  for  a  guide,  yet  through 
unbelief  rejects  the  only  infallible  teacher. 
He  says,  I  am  brought  into  darkness,  and  not 
into  light;  I  look  for  light,  but  there  is  none; 
I  feel  after  God,  but  I  cannot  find  him.  He 
asks  the  watchman  to  direct  him,  but  he  is 
still  lost  and  bewildered.  He  finds  that  his 
case  is  wholly  unmanageable  by  human  skill 
and  efforts.  His  heart,  which  until  lately  he 
regarded  as  good,  he  finds  to  be  hard,  corrupt, 
and  stubborn.  The  cry  of  the  Shunamite's 
child  was,  "My  head,  my  head!"  but  the 
lament  of  this  man  is,  "My  heart,  my  heart!" 


54  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

He  finds  it  so  unfeeling  that  he  readily  joins 
with  the  poet,  and  says, 

"Of  feeling  all  tilings  show  some  sign, 

But  this  rebellious  heart  of  mine." 
*'  My  heart,  how  very  hard  it  is. 
How  heavy  here  it  lies  ; 
Heavy  and  cold  within  my  breast, 
Just  like  a  rock  of  ice." 

To  remove  this  hardness,  he  will  bring  before 
his  mind  images  and  denunciations  of  God's 
displeasure  against  the  wicked.  But  it  ''shakes 
not  at  the  wrath  and  terrors  of  a  God."  When 
he  would  melt  it  by  tender  reflections  on  God's 
love,  he  finds  it  still  full  of  revolt ;  and  even 
the  scenes  of  Calvary  often  make  it  the  more 
stout  and  defiant. 

A  sense  of  personal  vileness  may  be  strong 
and  painful,  and  he  may  cry,  ' '  Create  in  me  a 
clean  heart,  0  God,  and  renew  a  right  spirit 
within  me."  Yet  oftentimes  this  prayer  seems 
to  have  no  heart  in  it.  He  does  indeed  long 
for  purity  of  nature  ;  but  perhaps  it  is  only  that 
he  may  have  something  whereof  to  boast  before 
God,  or  some  righteousness  of  his  own — to  come 
before  God  with  a  price  in  his  hand. 

The  author  of  these  new  views  and  emo- 
tions is  the  Spirit  of  God.  These  are  the 
strivings  of  Him  who  was  promised  to  convince 


STEIVINGS  OF  THE  SPIRIT.     55 

the  world  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  judg- 
ment. He  is  now  calling  the  soul  to  forsake 
sin  and  turn  to  God.  The  fears  which  torment 
his  soul  are  the  natural  result  of  recent  discov- 
eries of  Grod's  amazing  mercy  and  holiness, 
justice  and  power,  which  have  all  been  slighted 
and  contemned.  Though  no  terrors  will  change 
the  heart,  yet  they  may  be  useful  in  driving 
the  soul  out  of  itself  and  away  from  its  false 
refuges.  He  who  is  thus  exercised  ought  to 
know  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh 
unto  him ;  that  now  is  his  time  to  turn  and  live, 
while  the  Spirit  strives.  Should  he  withdraw, 
all  is  lost.  Without  his  influences,  we  can  no 
more  move  heavenward  than  we  can  sail  a  ship 
without  wind. 

That  God's  Spirit  may  call  men  to  repent- 
ance, and  be  resisted,  and  take  his  final  de- 
parture, is  clear.  The  Scriptures  say,  "My 
Spirit  shall  not  always  strive  with  man."  Gen. 
6:3.  "  Ephraim  is  joined  to  idols  ;  let  him 
alone.''  Hos.  4:17.  The  word  of  God  also 
gives  us  cases  in  which  men  have  been  greatly 
affected  by  divine  things,  and  have  had  awful 
and  pungent  distress,  and  yet  have  drawn  back 
to  perdition.  In  the  Old  Testament,  Saul  and 
Ahab,  in  the  New,  Herod,  Simon  Magus,  Fe- 


56  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

lix,  and  Agrippa,  are  illustrations  of  the  fear- 
ful abandonment  of  God.  Men  thus  left  to 
their  own  corruptions  will  inevitably  perish. 
They  will  work  out  their  own  damnation  with 
greediness.  One  of  the  greatest  points  of  dan- 
ger is  found  in  the  fact  that  a  man  may  grieve 
away  the  Spirit  without  any  fixed  purpose  of 
bringing  his  soul  into  such  guilt.  Obstinate 
resistance,  continued  unbelief,  and  refusal  to 
obey  the  call  when  given,  are  often  all  that  is 
necessary  to  quench  the  heavenly  fire  within 
us,  and  consign  us  to  the  coldness  of  death. 

Hardly  any  thing  is  more  offensive  to  God 
than  an  all-absorbing  engagedness  in  worldly 
pursuits.  This  often  causes  the  Spirit  of  God 
to  forsake  a  man  and  leave  him  to  the  power 
of  evil.  ''If  any  man  love  the  world,  the  love 
of  the  Father  is  not  in  him."  ''They  that  will 
be  rich  fall  into  temptation  and  a  snare,  and 
into  many  foolish  and  hurtful  lusts,  which 
drown  men  in  destruction  and  perdition." 
1  John  2  :  15,  and  1  Tim.  6:9.  If  a  man  pre- 
fers the  present  to  the  future,  earth  to  heaven, 
riches  that  perish  to  riches  which  endure  to 
eternal  life,  he  offers  an  insult  to  God  of  so  ag- 
gravated a  nature  as  itself  to  justify  God  in 
leaving  him  to  himself  for  ever. 


STEIVINGS  OF  THE  SPIKIT.  57 

Others  indulge  in  a  dangerous  levity  of 
mind.  They  are  too  frivolous  to  take  hold  of 
eternal  things  with  any  earnestness.  To  them 
solemnity  is  torment.  They  might  be  relig- 
ious, if  they  might  retain  a  light  and  trifling 
state  of  mind.  But  they  regard  the  heavy  de- 
mands made  on  their  sobriety  as  enormous  and 
unreasonable.  So  they  lose  their  souls  in  a 
laugh.  They  jest  and  make  a  mock  of  awful 
things.  They  trifle  with  Scripture.  Even 
their  prayers  do  not  partake  of  any  profound 
awe. 

Some  men  perish  through  a  wild  conceit,  a 
fancy  of  their  own,  a  whim  that  they  will  not 
surrender.  On  no  subject  are  men  so  full  of 
crotchets  and  quibbles  as  on  religion.  They 
sport  themselves  with  their  own  deceivings. 
They  are  often  better  pleased  with  a  phantom 
than  with  a  reality.  Error  is  sweeter  than 
truth  to  the  carnal  mind.  If  men  will  prefer 
any  thing  to  Grod's  word,  they  must  go  down 
to  death. 

The  angry  passions,  envy,  hatred,  malice, 

spitefulness,  resentment,   are  all  exceedingly 

offensive  to  God's  Spirit.     Pride  and  fretful- 

ness  are  no  less  his  abhorrence.     He  who  hates 

his  brother  is  a  murderer.     He  who  will  not 
3^ 


58  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

forgive  shall  not  be  forgiven.  The  only  visi- 
ble shape  in  which  the  Holy  Ghost  ever  de- 
scended was  that  of  a  dove  ;  and  a  dove  is  the 
very  emblem  of  peace  and  gentleness,  and  flies 
from  strife  and  noise  and  war.  Therefore  Paul 
says,  "  G-rieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God;" 
and  adds,  ''Let  all  bitterness,  and  wrath,  and 
anger,  and  clamor,  and  evil-speaking  be  put 
away  from  you,  with  all  malice  ;  and  be  ye 
kind  one  to  another,  tender-hearted,  forgiving 
one  another,  even  as  God,  for  Christ's  sake, 
hath  forgiven  you."     Eph.  4  :  30-32. 

Too  much  company,  and  even  too  much 
attention  to  the  public  means  of  grace,  may  be 
unfriendly  to  the  continued  presence  and  power 
of  God's  Spirit  in  the  heart.  He  loves  to  al- 
lure the  soul,  and  bring  her  into  the  wilder- 
ness. In  solitude  the  Spirit  often  pours  his 
clearest  light  into  the  mind.  It  has  been  ob- 
served that  meetings  long  protracted  often  ex- 
haust the  energies  of  the  mind,  and  leave  it  in 
a  state  of  apparent  callousness.  Bad  company 
must  of  course  be  avoided.  It  has  destroyed 
many.  It  ruined  Herod.  For  his  oath's  sake, 
and  for  the  sake  of  them  that  sat  at  meat  with 
him,  he  took  the  life  of  the  very  man  whose 
ministry  had  so  deeply  impressed  him. 


STRIVINGS  OF  THE  SPIEIT.     59 

Sins  of  the  appetite,  sucli  as  gluttony  and 
drunkenness,  though  they  be  not  carried  to  the 
greatest  lengths,  have  a  brutalizing  and  hard- 
ening effect  on  the  mind.  All  sensuality  is 
followed  by  like  consequences.  He  whose  god 
is  his  belly  cannot  choose  the  God  of  heaven 
for  his  portion.  He  who  is  given  to  the  bottle 
may  have  redness  of  eyes,  but  cannot  have  a 
penitent  spirit.  A  devotion  to  the  carnal  is 
closely  allied  to  the  pursuit  of  the  devilish. 
The  sensual  easily  break  all  their  good  resolu- 
tions. They  pamper  the  flesh.  They  grieve 
the  Spirit.  They  yield  to  temptation,  and  are 
soon  plunged  into  many  dreadful  sins. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  some  allow  their  re- 
ligious impressions  to  run  too  much  in  the  way 
of  sentimentalism.  It  is  possible  for  men  to 
weep  away  all  their  convictions.  It  is  natural 
for  distress  to  pass  away  in  floods  of  tears. 
The  Spirit  strives  not  merely  to  induce  men  to 
shed  some  tears,  but  to  lead  them  to  forsake 
sin  and  turn  to  God.  Till  this  result  is  gained, 
nothing  is  effectually  accomplished.  To  come 
short  of  this,  is  to  resist  Him  who  calls  us  to  a 
new  life,  to  new  hopes,  to  salvation. 

Others  harden  themselves  in  sin  by  refus- 
ing the  means  of  grace.     They  will  not  read 


60  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

and  study  God's  word ;  they  will  not  pray ; 
they  avoid  religions  conversation ;  they  conceal 
the  state  of  their  minds ;  they  are  careless  or 
irregular  hearers  of  the  gospel ;  above  all,  they 
refuse  to  practise  what  they  already  know,  and 
so  they  make  no  progress.  They  do  nothing 
except  as  they  are  moved  by  fears  or  remorse. 
They  seem  quite  inclined  to  religion  when 
pangs  are  upon  them.  They  cry,  and  even 
roar  under  the  terrors  of  Grod ;  but  they  never 
frame  their  doings  to  please  him.  If  Grod 
leave  such  to  utter  hardness,  it  will  be  no 
wonder. 

Sometimes  men  seal  their  doom  by  resolv- 
ing to  give  their  chief  attention  to  outward 
things  and  external  reformations,  neglecting 
the  religion  of  the  heart.  Some  years  ago  a 
wicked  man,  in  great  distress  about  his  soul, 
said,  "I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  amend  my 
speech,  and  afterwards  to  attend  to  my  heart." 
It  was  the  signal  of  his  ruin.  His  seriousness 
forsook  him.  He  lived  several  years  a  hard- 
ened, foul-mouthed  man,  and  then  died  a  vio- 
lent death.  The  Scripture  rule  is,  first  make 
the  tree  good,  and  then  the  fruit  shall  be  good ; 
purify  the  fountain,  and  the  stream  shall  be 
sweet.     He  whose  main  desire  is  to  cleanse 


STEIVINGS  OF  THE  SPIBIT.     61 

the  outside  of  the  platter,  even  if  he  were  suc- 
cessful, might  yet  die  without  hope. 

Continued  unbelief  and  impenitence,  under 
any  conceivable  circumstances,  may  and  must 
cause  us  to  be  given  over  to  blindness  of  mind 
and  hardness  of  heart.  Many  whose  morals 
were  blameless,  who  fully  intended  to  lead  a 
religious  life  but  never  did,  who  shed  many 
tears  and  bore  many  terrors,  have  at  last 
uttered  the  cry,  "The  harvest  is  past,  the 
summer  is  ended,  and  I  am  not  saved."  He 
who  called  them  suddenly  forsook  them.  Wick- 
ed men  are  often  surprised  at  finding  them- 
selves deserted  by  their  serious  thoughts,  and 
unmoved  by  any  tender  impressions. 

Against  an  issue  so  fatal  there  is  no  protec- 
tion till  one  casts  himself  at  the  feet  of  Jesus. 
The  longer  this  is  deferred,  the  worse  will  be 
the  sinner's  state  and  the  more  imminent  his 
peril.  Already  sin,  like  a  gangrene,  has 
spread  its  roots  into  every  vital  part.  Unless 
there  is  a  sovereign  remedy,  all  is  lost.  Unless 
that  remedy  be  applied,  it  were  as  well  for 
him  that  it  had  never  been  provided.  Who- 
ever is  the  subject  of  divine  influences  is  in  a 
fearfully  critical  state.  To  use  a  figure  under- 
stood by  all,  he  has  come  to  the  forks  of  the 


62  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

road.  The  right  way  is  narrow,  steep,  and 
difficult,  but  it  leads  to  God  and  glory.  The 
other  leads  to  death. 

Nor  does  any  man  know  whether  a  soul 
once  forsaken  of  God  will  ever  be  called  again. 
Thousands  have  succeeded  in  stifling  convic- 
tions and  shaking  off  impressions,  which  proved 
to  be  the  last  effects  of  the  Spirit's  strivings. 
There  is  no  more  fearful  state  than  that  of  a 
soul  meditating  the  rejection — for  what  proves 
to  be  the  last  time — of  the  blessed  Spirit  of 
God. 

As  God  has  no  other  Son  to  give  for  our 
salvation  if  we  reject  the  Lord  Jesus,  so  he 
has  no  other  Spirit  to  send  into  our  hearts  and 
call  us  to  repentance  if  we  reject  the  Holy 
Ghost.  And  if  any  man  fails  to  secure  illumi- 
nation, regeneration,  and  sanctification  by  this 
divine  Agent,  those  mercies  will  never  be  his. 
Every  good  thought,  every  right  affection,  and 
every  holy  desire  come  from  him  alone.  A 
ship  may  have  ten  thousand  yards  of  sail 
spread  out,  but  that  will  never  carry  her  into 
port  unless  the  wind  blows. 

Let  none  forget  that  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
most  loving  and  merciful.  This  is  proven  by 
all  Scripture  and  by  all   the  Spirit's  work. 


STRIVINGS  OF  THE  SPIEIT.  63 

None  is  more  kind,  none  is  more  gentle.  A 
young  lad  had  been  resisting  the  calls  of  mercy. 
At  last  he  opened  the  door  and  admitted  the 
heavenly  Stranger.  His  soul  was  so  overcome 
with  a  sense  of  his  vileness  in  so  long  resisting 
such  mercy,  that  he  said  nothing  had  ever 
seemed  to  him  so  wicked,  so  ungrateful.  He 
was  right. 

Urge  all  inquirers  to  make  immediate  sub- 
mission to  Christ,  immediate  application  to  the 
Saviour  for  mercy.  Many  years  ago,  a  young 
man  in  distress  for  his  soul  revealed  the  state 
of  his  mind  to  an  eminent  minister,  and  then 
said,  ''If  I  should  die  to-night,  do  you  think  I 
should  be  saved?"  The  minister  replied,  "I 
have  no  sufficient  reason  for  supposing  that  you 
love  Christ ;  and  if  you  do  not,  then  you  can- 
not be  saved."  "  Then,"  said  the  young  man, 
''I  will  sleep  no  more  this  night;"  and  he  went 
out  and  spent  the  whole  night  in  prayer.  As 
the  day  began  to  break,  he  returned  to  the 
house  where  the  minister  was,  rejoicing  in 
hope  of  the  glory  of  God,  and  saying,  "I  have 
found  Christ  precious  to  my  soul."  Oh  that  all 
men  were  in  good  earnest  in  seeking  their  own 
salvation. 


64  VITAL  GODLINESS. 


CHAPTER   Y. 

A  SENSE  OF  WRETCHEDNESS. 

A  WRITER  who  flourished  more  than  a  thou- 
sand years  ago  reckons  up  two  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  opinions  of  the  ancients  respecting 
the  way  of  happiness.  The  fact  is  that  man's 
want  of  happiness  results  from  the  most  pow- 
erful causes — causes  not  capable  of  being  re- 
moved but  by  an  almighty  Friend.  So  long 
as  man  and  society  remain  in  themselves  what 
they  are,  more  or  less  misery  is  inevitable. 
For  wise  purposes  God  denies  us  any  cup  of 
pure,  unmixed  pleasure  in  this  life.  Every 
gt3neration  endures  a  vast  amount  of  misery. 
Poverty,  disease,  bereavements,  commotions, 
make  many  sigh.  Many,  like  Job,  are  weary 
of  life.  Yet  mere  suffering,  without  the  grace 
of  Grod,  is  unprofitable.  One  of  the  most  pain- 
ful thoughts  connected  with  a  sight  of  the  woes 
of  many  is,  that  present  sorrows  are  but  pre- 
ludes to  those  which  shall  be  eternal.  Most 
men  mourn  their  want  of  health,  wealth,  hon- 
or, or  success.     How  few  deplore  their  uncon- 


A  SENSE  OF  WKETGHEDNESS.  65 

verted  state  and  tlieir  multiplied  offences. 
But  here  and  there  one  seeks  deliverance  from 
sin,  which,  ought  to  be  felt  as  the  most  grievous 
of  all  burdens.  Indeed,  how  few  have  any 
deep,  settled  conviction  of  their  own  vileness. 
While  this  is  so,  they  will  not  cry  for  mercy. 

But  now  and  then  we  find  an  exception. 
At  first,  indeed,  the  oppression  of  the  spirit 
may  not  be  great ;  but  he  who  has  just  views 
of  the  nature  of  sin,  will  hardly  stop  short  of 
great  carefulness  in  seeking  salvation.  A 
slight  view  of  ill-desert,  united  with  a  convic- 
tion of  personal  depravity,  may  awaken  the 
first  uneasiness.  But  divine  grace  has  a  ten- 
dency to  develop  clear  views  of  spiritua 
things;  and  he  who  begins  with  very  indis* 
tinct  views,  will  find  out  by  degrees  great 
wonders  in  himself.  At  such  a  time  a  man 
easily  discovers  also  that  this  world  is  a  very 
unsubstantial  good.  It  is  not  a  saving,  but  to 
erne  rightly  affected  it  is  a  profitable  lesson, 
that  all  in  this  world  is  vanity  of  vanities. 
Men  may  indeed  see  the  emptiness  of  earth, 
and  sink  into  despair ;  but  men  wholly  satis- 
fied with  this  world  will  hardly  seek  a  better 
country. 

Right  views  of  one's  real  character  and 


66  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

standing  in  God's  sight  as  a  sinner  must  be 
more  or  less  painful  and  mortifying.  So  God 
says  of  Ei3hraim,  ' '  I  have  surely  heard  Ephra- 
im  bemoaning  himself  thus  :  Thou  hast  chas- 
tised me,  and  I  was  chastised  as  a  bullock 
unaccustomed  to  the  yoke:  turn  thou  me,  and 
I  shall  be  turned."  Jer.  31:18.  This  be- 
moaning one's  self  is  the  same  state  of  mind 
elsewhere  described  in  God's  word  as  a  weari- 
ness, an  oppression  of  the  soul.  God  often 
subjects  those  whom  he  would  save  to  a  train- 
ing and  discipline  none  the  less  salutary  be- 
cause very  grievous.  They  are  made  to  smart 
for  their  follies.  They  are  sensible  that  they 
are  out  of  the  right  way.  They  are  disconso- 
late, and  have  no  comforter.  Things  which 
lately  attracted  them  are  stripped  of  their  be- 
witching splendor,  and  the  heart  is  emptied  of 
all  that  once  charmed  it.  Such  will  soon  be 
found  writing  bitter  things  against  themselves. 
Every  one  thus  exercised  will  say,  ''I  am 
more  brutish  than  any  man,  and  have  not 
the  understanding  of  a  man.  I  neither  learn- 
ed wisdom,  nor  have  the  knowledge  of  the 
holy."  Prov.  30  :  2,  3.  A  sense  of  his  own 
weakness  and  blindness  takes  possession  of 
him.     He  is  not  hard  to  be  persuaded  that 


A  SENSE  OF  WEETCHEDNESS.  67 

others  know  more  than  himself.  He  has  learn- 
ed that  so  many  of  his  views  are  erroneous, 
that  he  has  lost  conticlence  in  his  judgments  of 
religious  matters.  Such  a  discovery  is  to  him 
of  the  highest  importance.  Had  he  remained 
in  his  former  self-ignorance,  he  would  have 
utterly  perished  in  his  own  corruptions. 

Such  things  are  attended  with  a  percep- 
tion of  his  vileness  and  unworthiness,  and  like 
some  of  old,  he  arises  in  his  heaviness  and  falls 
on  his  knees,  and.  spreads  out  his  hands  unto 
the  Lord,  and  says,  "0  my  God,  I  am  asham- 
ed, and  blush  to  lift  up  my  face  to  thee ;  for 
mine  iniquities  are  increased  over  my  head,  and 
my  trespass  is  grown  up  unto  the  heavens." 
Ezra  9:5,  6.  Or  he  feels  as  David  once  did: 
"Innumerable  evils  have  compassed  me  about: 
mine  iniquities  have  taken  hold  upon  me,  so 
that  I  am  not  able  to  look  up  ;  they  are  more 
than  the  hairs  of  my  head :  therefore  my  heart 
faileth  me."  Psa.  40  :  12.  The  number  of  his 
sins  is  so  great,  that  he  sees  it  is  quite  beyond 
his  power  either  to  subdue  them  or  wash  them 
away.  Nor  is  he  mistaken.  Unless  God  un- 
dertakes for  him,  his  undoing  is  everlasting. 
Like  the  publican,  he  stands  afar  off,  and  does 
not  so  much  as  lift  his  eyes  to  heaven,  but 


68  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

smites  on  his  breast,  and  says,  God  be  merci- 
ful to  me  a  sinner. 

Nor  is  it  only  the  number  of  his  sins,  but 
also  the  evil  nature  of  sin  itself,  that  deeply 
affects  him.  He  now  sees  that  sin  is  a  horri- 
ble evil,  a  deadly  poison,  a  desperate  malig- 
nity, an  incurable  wound,  a  foul  leprosy.  In 
this  state  he  will  be  sensible  of  his  want  of 
proper  feelings  towards  Grod.  His  efforts  to 
work  himself  up  to  a  proper  regard  for  his 
Maker  are  entire  failures.  His  heart  refuses 
to  do  any  thing  which  his  conscience  declares 
obligatory.  He  finds  his  affections  all  disor- 
dered. He  can  love  his  friends,  his  family, 
his  country;  but  he  is  amazed  to  find  that  he 
cannot  love  God.  His  heart  is  an  iceberg  for 
coldness,  an  adamant  for  hardness,  a  cage  of 
unclean  birds  for  vileness.  Sometimes  his 
affections  seem  somewhat  enkindled,  but  they 
do  not  go  forth  to  his  satisfaction.  When  he 
weeps,  it  is  soon  over.  His  tears  seem  not  to 
flow  from  a  penitent  spirit. 

Frequently  his  external  circumstances  per- 
plex him.  Every  thing  goes  wrong.  His  at- 
tention is  distracted  by  various  calls.  Every 
thing  seems  to  conspire  against  him.  To  re- 
lease himself  is  impossible.     To  obtain  help 


A  SENSE  OF  WKETCHEDNESS.  69 

from  God  is  his  wish,  but  he  knows  not  how 
to  find  him.  In  reading  the  Scriptures  he 
finds  difficulties.  Some  things  are  hard  to  be 
understood.  Others,  though  plain,  are  in  his 
view  stern  and  severe.  Against  some  his 
heart  stoutly  rebels.  Although  this  alarms 
him,  yet  his  efi*orts  at  repressing  such  wicked 
thoughts  are  quite  unsuccessful.  Things  for- 
bidden in  God's  law  he  lusts  after.  For  many 
things  sinful  he  finds  in  himself  a  longing, 
which  seems  to  himself  both  strange  and  un- 
natural. Divine  prohibitions  seem  only  to 
inflame  his  unholy  desires.  Things  command- 
ed he  has  no  heart  for.  The  more  he  tries  to 
control  his  desires,  the  more  they  torment  him. 
The  law  commands ;  but  his  nature,  in  spite  of 
him,  leads  him  into  disobedience.  Tempta- 
tions are  strong,  and  he  is  weak.  He  is  a 
helpless  captive.  All  his  efforts  are  in  vain. 
His  prayers  seem  to  him  a  mockery.  His 
strength  is  weakness. 

Now  his  soul  is  ''like  the  troubled  sea, 
when  it  cannot  rest,  whose  waters  cast  up  mire 
and  dirt."  He  has  no  might  to  do  good.  He 
cannot  still  the  agitations  of  his  own  bosom. 
To  peace  he  is  a  stranger.  He  remembers 
God,  and  is  troubled.     He  has  no  access  to 


70  VITAL  GODLINESS.; 

the  Father  of  spirits.  He  sajs,  "Oh  that  I 
knew  where  I  might  find  him ;  I  would  come 
nigh  to  his  seat ;  I  would  order  my  cause  be- 
fore him;  I  would  fill  my  mouth  with  argu- 
ments." He  pleads  for  mercy  and  pity.  His 
moisture  is  turned  into  the  drought  of  summer. 
His  bones  wax  old  through  his  roaring  all  the 
day  long.  Day  and  night  God's  hand  is  heavy 
upon  him.  He  forgets  to  take  bread.  His 
appetite  fails  him.  His  sleep  is  short  and  dis- 
turbed. God  holds  his  eyes  waking.  At  mid- 
night he  is  sometimes  heard  sighing,  or  found 
weeping.  Or  ''dry  sorrow  is  drinking  up  his 
blood."  His  spirits  and  energies  begin  to  fail. 
He  mourns  sore  like  the  dove,  and  chatters 
like  the  swallow.  He  greatly  fears  that  he  is 
about  to  perish  in  his  sins.  In  real  distress  he 
says,  What  shall  I  do  ?  What  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved  ? 

*'I  die  with  liunger  here,  he  cries  ; 
I  starve  in  foreign  lands." 

It  seems  to  him  that  none  pities  his  case,  and 
that  God  has  forgotten  to  be  gracious.  Yet  he 
chides  himself  for  such  unbelief.  His  impres- 
sion is  that  his  own  heart  defers  the  relief  he 
needs. 


A  SENSE  OF  WRETCHEDNESS.  71 

"Oh,  who  can  tell  what  clays,  what  nights  he  spends 
Of  tideless,  waveless,  sailless,  shoreless  woe  ! 

When  thus  he  lies, 
Forlorn  of  heart,  withered  and  desolate 
As  leaf  of  autumn,  which  the  wolfish  winds 
Selecting  from  its  falling  sisters,  chase 
Far  from  its  native  grove,  to  Hfeless  wastes, 
And  leave  it  there  alone,  to  be  forgotten  eternally. " 

To  one  in  this  sad  state  the  cheerMness  of 
GocVs  people  but  brings  increase  of  wretched- 
ness. And  the  thoughtlessness  of  the  wicked 
but  reminds  him  of  the  heathenish  or  brutish 
character  of  his  former  life.  To  exhort  him  to 
embrace  the  offered  grace  of  God  but  dejects 
him.     He  says, 

"The  promise  meets  my  eye, 
But  does  not  reach  my  case. " 

Sometimes  it  seems  to  him  that  he  must 
give  up  all  as  lost  for  ever;  but  something 
holds  him  back  from  utter  despair.  He  is  led 
and  upheld  by  an  invisible  hand.  One,  of 
whom  he  has  yet  no  saving  knowledge,  is  deal- 
ing with  his  soul,  and  will  not  let  him  go.  Yet 
he  sees  no  use  in  all  his  pains  and  efforts,  for 
every  struggle  seems  to  sink  him  the  deeper 
in  sin  and  misery.  He  wishes  his  load  of  sin 
were  gone,  but  it  presses  harder  and  harder. 
He  is  weary  of  his  way,  weary  of  heartless 
efforts,  weary  of  his  own  want  of  stability, 


72  YITAL  GODLINESS. 

weary  of  his  burdens,  and  sometimes  almost 
weary  of  existence. 

Now  if  any  one  is  in  sucli  a  case  as  tliis, 
let  him  turn  his  longing  eyes  to  the  Lamb  of 
God,  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 
Let  him  look  to  Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher 
of  faith,  the  author  of  eternal  redemption,  the 
only  physician  who  can  do  a  sinner  good.  Let 
sinners  come  to  him.  Come  and  welcome,  ye 
perishing.  Hospitals  are  designed  for  the  sick, 
the  lame,  the  mangled,  the  homeless.  Water 
is  for  the  thirsty,  bread  for  the  hungry,  and  a 
couch  for  the  weary.  Jesus  Christ  is  the  very 
Saviour  man  needs,  and  he  is  exactly  suited  to 
our  wants.  He  is  chosen  of  God,  and  precious. 
He  was  set  forth  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins.  He  is  the  ^one  Mediator  between  God 
and  man.  To  him  all  the  condemned  and  dy- 
ing should  resort.  His  mission  into  this  world 
was  that  he  might  seek  and  save  that  which 
was  lost.  To  that  end  he  lived ;  to  that  end  he 
died ;  to  that  end  he  rose  again ;  to  that  end  he 
intercedes  above  ;  to  that  end  he  sends  the 
Spirit  of  all  grace  to  convince  the  world  of  sin, 
of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment.  Should  the 
Lord  Jesus  fail  to  save  sinners,  he  would  lose 
his  reward:  his  sufferings  would  be  without 


A  SENSE  OF  WKETCHEDNESS.  73 

fruit ;  nothing  would  be  left  liim  but  the  shame, 
the  spitting,  the  cross,  the  spear,  the  crown  of 
thorns,  and  the  total  failure  of  the  hope  that 
was  set  before  him,  when  he  endured  the  cross, 
despising  the  shame. 

WHAT  IS  IT  TO   COME   TO   CHRIST? 

What  is  faith  in  him  ?  How  does  one  feel 
when  he  lays  hold  of  the  Saviour  ? 

"Justifying  faith  is  a  saving  grace  wrought 
in  the  heart  of  a  sinner  by  the  Spirit  and  word 
of  G-od,  whereby  he,  being  convinced  of  his 
sin  and  misery,  and  of  the  disability  in  himself 
and  all  other  creatures  to  recover  him  out  of 
his  lost  condition,  not  only  assenteth  to  the 
truth  of  the  promise  of  the  gospel,  but  receiv- 
eth  and  resteth  upon  Christ  and  his  righteous- 
ness, therein  held  forth,  for  pardon  of  sin  and 
for  the  accepting  and  accounting  of  his  person 
righteous  in  the  sight  of  God  for  salvation.'^ 

As  a  definition,  this  is  full  and  clear.  True 
saving  faith  receives  Christ,  and  rests  on  him 
to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  ground  of  confi- 
dence in  the  matter  of  salvation. 

It  may  aid  some  minds  to  have  this  truth 
illustrated  by  several  figures  drawn  from  Scrip- 
ture. 


Vitel  CkxiUnese. 


74  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

A  soul  under  a  sense  of  its  lost  condition 
may  be  compared  to  the  dove  whicli  Noah  sent 
out  of  the  ark.  It  feels  itself  unhoused,  un- 
sheltered, unsupported.  It  wanders  up  and 
down,  sometimes  thinking  it  sees  before  it  a 
spoif  where  it  may  rest,  but  on  trial  its  ex- 
pectations are  disappointed.  At  length,  wea- 
ried almost  beyond  endurance,  its  false  hopes 
all  disappointed,  its  energies  enfeebled,  its 
spirit  humbled,  it  resolves  on  seeking  the  ark. 
It  seeks  and  finds  it;  and  to  its  great  joy  the 
spiritual  Noah  puts  forth  his  hand  and  takes  it 
in.  Then  for  weariness  it  finds  rest,  for  a 
waste  of  troubled  waters  a  sure  abode,  and 
for  howling  tempests  settled  quiet. 

Or  suppose  one  out  in  a  vast  desert.  He 
sees  a  little  cloud  rising.  At  first  it  gives  him 
no  apprehensions.  But  it  continues  to  spread 
and  to  blacken.  It  mutters  heavy  thunders; 
it  shoots  out  its  forked  lightnings;  it  seems 
exceedingly  angry,  and  wraps  up  every  thing 
in  gloom.  Every  minute  makes  it  more  and 
more  manifest  that  exposure  to  its  peltings 
will  be  distressing  and  dangerous.  The  weary 
traveller  looks  around  for  shelter.  Sometimes 
he  thinks  he  descries  a  place  of  protection. 
He  tries  it,  but  finds  it  will  answer  no  ffood 


A  SENSE  OF  WEETOHEDNESS.  75 

purpose.  He  tries  another  and  another;  but 
they  are  all  insufficient.  Meanwhile  his  ap- 
prehensions of  danger  increase.  The  storm 
seems  ready  to  rend  every  thing  in  its  fury. 
Now  his  eye  is  directed  to  a  shelter  that  is 
near  him.  It  seems  inviting.  It  is  capacious. 
In  it  is  room  for  all  that  will  come.  It  is  not 
hedged  about  nor  barred.  Jesus  says,  "Be- 
hold, I  have  set  before  thee  an  open  door.''  It 
is  just  such  a  refuge  as  he  needs.  Just  as  he 
supposes  the  storm  is  about  to  pour  its  fury 
upon  him,  he  runs  into  this  shelter  and  is  safe. 
This  newly  discovered  refuge  is  Christ.  Thus 
' '  a  man  " — the  divine  man  Christ  Jesus — ' '  shall 
be  as  a  hiding-place  from  the  wind,  and  a 
covert  from  the  tempest,  as  rivers  of  water  in 
a  dry  place,  as  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in 
a  weary  land."  Isa.  32 :  2.  The  man  sees  this 
place,  and  wonders  that  he  saw  it  no  sooner. 
It  is  so  near,  and  so  accessible.  "Say  not  in 
thy  heart,  Who  shall  ascend  into  heaven  ?  that 
is,  to  bring  Christ  down  from  above ;  or  who 
shall  descend  into  the  deep  ?  that  is,  to  bring 
up  Christ  again  from  the  dead.  But  what 
saith  it?  The  word  is  nigh  thee,  even  in  thy 
mouth  and  in  thy  heart ;  that  is,  the  word  of 
faith  which  we  preach :  that  if  thou  shalt  con- 


76  VITAL  GODLINESa. 

fess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shalt 
believe  in  thy  heart  that  God  raised  him  from 
the  dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved."   Rom.  10:  6-9. 

But  the  soul  thus  afifected  has  many  diffi- 
culties. 

The  author  of  ''Quiet  Thoughts  for  Quiet 
Hours"  gives  the  following  questions  and  an- 
swers respecting  one  in  the  state  just  described : 

"How  shall  I  come  to  God,  for  I  am  a  sin- 
ful creature  ? 

''Jesus  said,  'I  am  the  way;  no  man  com- 
eth  unto  the  Father  but  by  me.'     John  14:  6. 

"But  how  can  I  feel  sure  that  Jesus  will 
receive  me? 

"  'Him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out.'     John  6:37. 

"I  have  nothing  that  I  can  bring  to  him. 

"  'I  will  give  unto  him  that  is  athirst  of  the 
fountain  of  the  water  of  life  freely.'  Rev. 
21:6. 

"But  should  I  not  first  endeavor  to  purify 
my  soul  from  sin  ? 

"'Who  can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an 
unclean?  not  one.'  Job  14:  4.  '  Without  me 
ye  can  do  nothing.'     John  15:5. 

"How  then  shall  I  come? 

'"By  a  new  and  living  way,  which  he  hath 


A  SENSE  OF  WKETCHEDNESS.  77 

consecrated  for  us  through  the  vail,  that  is  to 
say,  his  flesh/     Heb.  10:20. 

"Is  God  sure  to  receive  me  ?  Can  he  love 
me? 

"'I  will  receive  you,  and  will  be  a  Father 
unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  my  sons  and  daugh- 
ters, saith  the  Lord  Almighty.'     2  Cor.  6:18. 

''What  should  be  the  object  of  my  life  ? 

'"Ye  are  bought  with  a  price;  therefore 
glorify  God  in  your  body,  and  in  your  spirit, 
which  are  God's.'     1  Cor.  6 :  20. 

"Can  my  unimportant  actions  in  any  way 
glorify  the  everlasting  God  ? 

'"Herein  is  my  Father  glorified,  that  ye 
bear  much  fruit.'     John  15:8. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  fruit? 

"The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace, 
long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meek- 
ness, temperance.'     Gal.  5 :  22,  23. 

"Does  God  then  take  notice  of  my  daily 
conduct  ? 

'"I  know  the  things  that  come  into  your 
mind,  every  one  of  them.'  Ezek.  11:5.  'He 
that  planted  the  ear,  shall  he  not  hear  ?  He 
that  formed  the  eye,  shall  he  not  see?  He 
that  teacheth  man  knowledge,  shall  he  not 
know?'     Psa.  44:10. 


78  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

"I  am  very  ignorant ;  who  shall  instruct  me? 

"'Search  the  Scriptures/  John  5:39. 
'The  holy  Scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make 
thee  wise  unto  salvation,  through  faith  which 
is  in  Christ  Jesus/     2  Tim.  3 :  15. 

"But  I  have  so  many  evil  habits  to  com- 
bat; what  shall  I  do? 

"  'G-ird  up  the  loins  of  your  mind.^  1  Pet. 
1 :  13.  'Fight  the  good  fight  of  faith.'  1  Tim. 
5:12.  'For  he  hath  said,  I  will  never  leave 
thee,  nor  forsake  thee.'     Heb.  13:  5. 

"But  there  are  trials  and  temptations  in 
my  way  which  others  have  not. 

"  'There  hath  no  temptation  taken  you  but 
such  as  is  common  to  man ;  but  God  is  faith- 
ful, who  will  not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted  above 
that  ye  are  able ;  but  will  with  the  temptation 
also  make  a  way  to  escape,  that  ye  may  be  able 
to  bear  it.'     1  Cor.  10:13. 

"I  wish  I  had  some  friend  who  could  un- 
derstand all  the  trials  of  my  spirit. 

'"We  have  not  a  High-priest  which  can- 
not be  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmi- 
ties ;  but  was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we 
are,  yet  without  sin.'     Heb.  4: 15. 

"It  is  my  desire  to  walk  uprightly,  but  I 
feel  I  have  no  strength. 


I 


A  SENSE  OF  WBETCHEDNESS.  79 

''  'He  giveth  power  to  the  faint,  and  to  them 
that  have  no  might  he  increaseth  strength.' 
Isa.  40:29. 

''May  I  go  and  ask  him,  then? 

'"If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask 
of  Grod,  that  giveth  to  all  men  liberally  and 
upbraideth  not,  and  it  shall  be  given  him.' 
Jas.  1 : 5. 

"How  will  Grod  give  me  wisdom? 

"'I  will  put  my  Spirit  within  you,  and 
cause  you  to  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  ye  shall 
keep  my  judgments  and  do  them.'  Ezek. 
36:27. 

"When  trouble  comes,  what  shall  I  do? 

'"Call  upon  me  in  the  day  of  trouble:  I 
will  deliver  thee,  and  thou  shalt  glorify  me.' 
Psa.  51:15. 

"Need  I  not  fear  the  hour  of  death? 

'"When  thou  passest  through  the  waters  I 
will  be  with  thee.'     Isa.  40 :  2. 

"Nor  the  day  of  judgment? 

"'Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to  the  charge 
of  God's  elect?  It  is  God  that  justifieth.  Who 
is  he  that  condemneth  ?  It  is  Christ  that  died.' 
Eom.  8:33,  34. 

"Oh,  I  will  cast  in  my  lot  with  God's  peo- 
ple, for  they  only  are  happy. 


80  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

'''We  are  journeying  unto  tlie  place  of 
which  the  Lord  said,  I  will  give  it  you ;  come 
thou  with  us,  and  we  will  do  thee  good.' 
Num.  10:29. 

"  'The  Lord  bless  thee,  and  keep  thee ;  the 
Lord  make  his  face  shine  upon  thee,  and  be 
gracious  unto  thee  ;  the  Lord  lift  up  his  coun- 
tenance upon  thee,  and  give  thee  peace.'  Num. 
6:24-26." 

Truly  it  is  kind  to  invite  men  to  Christ. 
Let  them  come  boldly,  in  the  confidence  of 
faith,  at  once,  without  delay.  Well  and  wise- 
ly did  Paul  desire  that  he  might  "be  found  in 
Christ,  not  having  his  own  righteousness,  which 
is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through  the 
faith  of  Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is  of 
God  by  faith."  Phil.  3  :  9.  Only  thus  can  the 
soul  be  set  at  liberty. 

If  you  will  come  to  Christ  you  shall  have 
rest — rest  to  your  souls,  however  weary,  how- 
ever burdened — a  holy  rest  from  the  servitude 
of  sin  and  Satan — a  rest  from  tormenting  fears, 
from  corroding  cares,  from  an  accusing  con- 
science. The  unholy  quietness  of  unrenewed 
nature  is  but  the  precursor  of  wrath,  as  an  un- 
usual stillness  precedes  the  earthquake.     But 


A  SENSE  OF  WEETCHEDNESS.  81 

the  rest  of  the  soul  in  Christ  is  like  that  of  the 
Israelites  when,  after  their  long  journeyings 
and  wars  and  troubles,  they  were  enfeoffed  and 
settled  in  Canaan. 

Yespasian  the  Eoman  emperor  gave  a 
great  reward  to  a  person  who  came  and  pro- 
fessed a  great  love  for  him.  Come  to  Christ, 
thus  proving  that  you  love  him,  and  he  will 
give  you  blessings  whose  value  can  never  be 
adequately  estimated  by  a  finite  mind.  He 
will  receive  you.  "Him  that  cometh  unto  me 
I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out.''  He  will  give  you 
an  indisputable  title  to  imperishable  glory. 

Let  no  one  hesitate  what  choice  to  make. 
No  man  can  afford  to  sustain  the  loss  of  his 
soul,  the  loss  of  the  divine  favor,  the  loss  of 
the  smiles  of  Christ.  Men  must  be  saved  in 
him,  or  they  will  be  ruined  for  ever. 

You  can  but  die  if  you  come  to  Christ,  and 
you  must  die  if  you  do  not  come.  Every  man 
is  naturally  like  the  four  leprous  men  spoken 
of  in  2  Kings  7 :  3-11.  Let  him  but  arise  and 
go  trustfully  to  Christ,  and  all  will  be  weiL 


4* 


82  VITAL  GODLINESS. 


CHAPTER  YI. 

CONYICTION— CONVEESION. 

Attention  has  been  directed  to  the  earlier 
stages  of  religious  concern — the  first  thoughts, 
purposes,  temptations,  failures,  relentings,  bur- 
dens, sorrows,  and  struggles  of  a  soul  in  its  at- 
tempts to  flee  from  the  wrath  of  God.  It  may 
be  proper  here  to  make  a  few  general  remarks, 
explanatory  of  what  is  often  the  state  of  a  sin- 
ner's mind  immediately  before  conversion. 

He  discovers  that  the  Bible  is  a  revealer 
of  the  secrets  of  his  soul,  a  discerner  of  the 
thoughts  and  intents  of  his  heart.  He  is  ready 
to  say.  Come  see  a  book  which  hath  told  me 
all  things  that  ever  I  did.  At  such  times  God's 
word  is  as  a  glass,  in  which  a  man  beholds  his 
natural  face.  It  reflects  his  image,  and  shows 
him  his  sad  deficiencies  and  his  great  deform- 
ity. He  finds  his  heart  to  be  exceedingly  de- 
praved. He  is  convinced  that  the  imagina- 
tions of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  are  only  evil 
continually.  In  this  state  of  mind  David  com- 
pared his  pains  to  "broken  bones."  If  you 
have  ever  had  a  broken  bone,  you  may  have 


CONVICTION— CONVERSION.  83 

an  idea  of  his  meaning.  Thouglits  of  it  oc- 
cupy the  mind  day  and  night.  For  a  moment 
company  may  seem  to  create  a  diversion  of  the 
thoughts,  but  soon  they  revert  to  the  fractured 
limb.  Such  a  one  awaking  at  a  dead  hour  of 
the  night,  immediately  thinks  of  the  injured 
part.  All  attempts  to  shake  off  reflection  con- 
cerning it  are  fruitless.  In  another  place  Da- 
vid says,  "My  sin  is  ever  before  me."  His 
mind  dwelt  upon  his  transgressions.  Like  a 
vast  army  of  men,  they  were  continually  pass- 
ing in  solemn  review.  In  this  state  of  mind, 
one  feels  that  God  has  a  right  to  have  mercy 
on  whom  he  will  have  mercy,  and  to  have  com- 
passion on  whom  he  will  have  compassion. 
Whatever  may  be  his  theory  on  the  subject, 
his  heartfelt  conviction  is,  that  without  wrong 
to  him,  Grod  may  withhold  all  the  blessings  of 
salvation.  Yea,  he  feels  that  God  would  be 
justified  in  condemning  him  for  ever,  and  be 
clear  in  driving  him  to  outer  darkness.  He 
says, 

"  Should  sudden  vengeance  seize  my  breath, 
1  must  pronounce  thee  just  in  death : 
And  if  my  soul  were  sent  to  heU, 
Thy  righteous  law  approves  it  weU." 

Sometimes  one  in  this  state  is  greatly  an- 
noyed  with   wicked   and   even   blasphemous 


84  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

thoughts.  The  object  of  the  tempter  seems 
to  be,  to  banish  all  hope  of  reconciliation  with 
God.  It  sometimes  happens  to  such  a  soul  as 
to  that  young  man  of  whom  we  read,  "And 
as  he  was  yet  a  coming,  the  devil  threw  him 
down  and  tare  him."  Luke  9  :  42.  When  his 
prey  is  about  to  be  taken  from  him,  the  old 
lion  is  greatly  enraged.  He  cannot  bear  to 
witness  the  escape  of  a  single  soul. 

One  thus  exercised  will  discover  that  the 
belief  which  he  has  hitherto  had  of  the  Bible 
is  unavailing.  It  has  been  merely  historical, 
cold,  and  powerless.  Or  it  has  been  the  faith 
of  devils,  and  has  merely  filled  his  soul  with 
terrors.  He  now  feels  the  need  of  a  faith  which 
is  ''of  the  operation  of  God."  And  even  in 
the  surrender  which  he  is  about  to  make,  there 
is  so  much  timidity  and  such  a  sense  of  unwor- 
thiness,  that  commonly  the  most  he  can  sa}^  is, 
"Lord,  I  believe;  help  thou  mine  unbelief." 
Boldness  in  coming  to  the  throne  of  grace  is 
seldom  enjoyed  even  by  young  converts. 

One  who  has  advanced  thus  far  will  prob- 
ably be  more  than  ever  beset  by  the  evil  one. 
The  Hebrews  never  fared  so  hard  as  just  be- 
fore they  left  Egypt ;  and  never  were  so  hated 
us  after  they  began  to  march  towards  Canaan. 


CONVICTION— CONVEESION.  85 

He  is  sadly  disappointed  that  the  measures  he 
has  adopted  for  relief  have  but  sunk  him  the 
deeper  in  misery.  Like  that  woman  in  the 
gospel,  he  has  spent  all  his  substance  on  phy« 
sicians,  and  is  no  better,  but  worse.  Prayer, 
hearing  the  word,  reading,  conversation,  and 
resolutions  have  all  been  found  ineffectual,  and 
even  worse ;  they  have  brought  more  wrath  on 
the  soul,  because  of  the  sin  attending  them. 

In  this  state  one  might  adopt  the  language 
of  the  psalmist:  "My  soul  is  full  of  troubles.  . . 
I  am  as  a  man  that  hath  no  strength. . .  Thou 
hast  laid  me  in  the  lowest  pit,  in  darkness,  in 
the  deep.  Thy  wrath  lieth  hard  upon  me,  and 
thou  hast  afflicted  me  with  all  thy  waves. . . 
I  am  shut  up,  and  I  cannot  come  forth. . . 
Mine  eye  mourneth  by  reason  of  affliction. 
Lord,  why  castest  thou  off  my  soul?  Why 
hidest  thou  thy  face  from  me?  Thy  terrors 
have  cut  me  off."  Psa.  88.  He  feels  that  God 
must  help  him,  or  he  must  die  in  his  sins. 
Like  Peter  sinking,  he  s^.ys,  "Lord,  save  me.'' 
Or  like  Hezekiah  he  exclaims,  "Mine  eyes 
fail  with  looking  upward.  0  Lord,  I  am  op- 
pressed; undertake  for  me."     Isa.  38  :14. 

Such  a  man  will  grieve  because  he  cannot 
grieve,  and  mourn  because  he  cannot  mourn, 


86  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

and  weep  because  he  cannot  weep.  He  is 
astonislied  at  his  guilt  and  at  his  hardness  of 
heart.  He  is  convinced  that  an  entire  change 
of  heart  is  in  his  case  necessary  to  happiness 
here  and  hereafter.  He  also  sees  that  if  he 
shall  ever  be  saved,  it  must  be  by  an  act  of 
free,  rich,  sovereign  grace.  His  boasted  abil- 
ity is  found  to  be  nothing.  His  strength  is 
weakness.  His  merits  are  now  not  named. 
He  feels  that  he  deserves  no  good  thing.  His 
righteousnesses  are  as  filthy  rags.  He  is  ready 
to  come  before  the  Lord  with  the  language  of 
self-condemnation.  He  feels  like  Benhadad's 
servants,  when  they  put  sackcloth  on  their 
loins  and  ropes  upon  their  heads,  and  went  to 
the  king  of  Israel,  thus  confessing  that  their 
lives  were  in  his  hands  and  at  his  mercy. 
1  Kings  20  :  31. 

This  state  of  mind  is  conviction,  which  in- 
volves always  a  sense  of  five  things:  sinful- 
ness, guilt,  ignorance,  hel23lessness,  and  misery. 
This  conviction  is  of  course  not  alike  pungent 
in  all  cases  ;  nor  is  it  necessarily  accompa- 
nied with  extreme  agitations  or  terrors  ;  but 
it  is  a  clear  view  of  one's  state  as  demanding 
the  remedy  provided  in  the  gospel.  If  the 
work  of  conviction  should  proceed,  and  hope 


i 


CONYIGTION—CONVEESION.  87 

never  come  to  the  relief  of  the  soul,  the  result 
would  be  the  impenetrable  gloom  of  despair, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  damned.  Let  a  man  see 
his  lost  estate,  and  not  see  the  Saviour  as  he  is 
freely  offered,  and  he  will  be  a  desperado  in 
the  government  of  God.  Often  the  sinner  de- 
sires that  his  convictions  may  proceed,  because 
he  looks  upon  them  as  punishments  for  sin — 
as  punishments  richly  deserved.  If  he  had  his 
way,  he  would  not  even  now  come  to  Christ. 
If  he  could  weep  and  mourn  and  grieve  and 
be  melted  as  he  wishes,  he  would  be  satisfied 
without  any  other  atonement  than  that  which 
he  could  thus  make.  At  least,  he  would  seek 
no  other.  In  all  his  dealings  with  him,  God's 
plan  is  to  shut  him  up  to  the  faith  of  Christ; 
that  through  the  law  he  may  be  dead  to  the 
law,  that  he  may  be  married  to  Christ. 

Ask  such  a  one  if  he  thinks  he  is  under 
conviction,  and  he  will  probably  reply  in  the 
negative.  His  views  on  that  subject  are  very 
vague  and  erroneous.  Indeed,  he  has  no  dis- 
tinct idea  of  what  conviction  is,  except  that  he 
believes  it  is  a  step  towards  salvation.  He 
thinks  he  has  no  such  feeling  as  in  anywise 
prepares  him  for  a  change.  It  seems  to  him 
that  he  is  losing  instead  of  gaining  ground. 


88  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

The  nearer  he  approaches  to  salvation,  the  far- 
ther does  he  seem  from  it.  The  darkest  hour 
is  just  before  day.  It  was  midnight  when  Pha- 
raoh dismissed  Israel.  Exod.  12:30,  31.  In 
his  Almost  Christian,  Meade  gives  a  salutary 
warning:  "Never  rest  in  convictions  till  they 
end  in  conversion.  This  is  that  wherein  most 
men  miscarry ;  they  rest  in  their  convictions, 
and  take  them  for  conversion,  as  if  sin  seen 
were  therefore  sin  forgiven ;  or  as  if  a  sight  of 
the  want  of  grace  were  the  truth  of  the  work 
of  grace."  Conviction,  however  deep  or  dis- 
tressing, is  not  saving.  This  brings  us  to  con- 
sider 

CONVERSION. 

On  this  subject,  let  a  few  things  be  pre- 
mised. 

1.  All  conversions  are  not  alike  in  their 
circumstances,  though  they  produce  like  re- 
sults. They  lead  to  the  forsaking  of  sin,  to 
the  acceptance  of  Christ,  to  holiness  of  life, 
and  finally  to  glory.  But  the  steps  by  which 
this  is  done  are  various.  Some  conversions 
are  extraordinary,  as  that  of  the  thief  on  the 
cross  and  that  of  Saul  of  Tarsus.  Even  in 
ordinary  conversions  there  is  a  great  variety. 
Some  are  sudden,  some  are  gradual,  some  are 


CONVICTION— CONVEESION.  89 

preceded  by  many  terrors,  some  are  marked 
by  extraordinary  views  of  the  tenderness  of 
God.  No  one  therefore  will  here  expect  an 
account  of  the  peculiar  exercises  of  any  one 
person,  but  rather  such  statements  as  may  suit 
most  cases  of  ordinary  experience. 

2.  Nor  will  the  reader  expect  an  account 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  Spirit  of  God  oper- 
ates on  the  heart.  No  man  has  this  informa- 
tion. Of  course  an  attempt  to  give  it  is  pre- 
sumptuous. Solomon  says,  "Thou  knowest  not 
the  way  of  the  Spirit."  Eccl.  11:5.  Paul  says, 
''What  man  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man,  save 
the  spirit  of  man  which  is  in  him  ?  even  so  the 
things  of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the  Spirit 
of  God.''  1  Cor.  2 :11.  God  has  not  informed 
us  how  he  operates  in  any  matter;  but  his 
methods  of  proceeding  are  wisely  and  necessa- 
rily concealed  from  human  ken.  So  our  Sav- 
iour clearly  taught,  John  3:8. 

3.  If  what  has  been  said  be  true,  then  in 
speaking  on  the  subject  of  conversion,  the  great- 
est modesty  becomes  us,  lest  we  should  hastily 
lay  down  principles  which  might  on  the  one 
hand  discourage  some  of  the  true  children  of 
God,  or  on  the  other,  encourage  false  hopes  in 
those  who  are  aliens  from»the  commonwealth 


90  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

of  Israel.  To  guard  against  both  these  ex- 
tremes is  no  easy  task.  Many  ignorant  per- 
sons are  forward  in  such  matters.  But  let  us 
distrust  ourselves  where  we  have  not  a  ''  Thus 
saith  the  Lord''  to  guide  us.  Let  no  man  lay 
down  any  thing  as  essential,  unless  in  his  word 
God  has  made  it  so. 

4.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  one  to  think, 
that  if  he  shall  obtain  relief,  it  will  be  in  some 
particular  manner,  such  as  he  has  devised  in 
his  own  mind,  or  heard  of  in  the  case  of  others. 
One  under  conviction  is  ready  to  fall  into  su- 
perstitious imaginings.  But  when  the  Lord 
intends  to  grant  deliverance,  he  will  save  from 
fatal  delusions.  Naaman  had  a  plan  of  being 
cured  of  leprosy  ;  but  his  was  not  God's  plan. 
Conversion  is  always  different  from  the  conjec- 
tures of  a  carnal  heart.  It  is  well  it  is  so. 
The  Scriptures  fairly  teach  us  so.     Isa.  42  :  16. 

When  the  soul  is  duly  humbled  in  its  own 
eyes — when  it  has  renounced  self-will  and  self- 
righteousness,  and  despaired  of  helping  itself, 
and  God's  Spirit  is  savingly  at  work,  some 
glimpses  of  Christ  are  afforded.  The  soul  has 
a  desire  to  lay  hold  on  him,  but  unbelief  is  too 
strong  for  reason  or  for  conviction  to  cure. 
The  soul  now  sees, 'approves,  and  accepts  some 


CONVICTION— OONVEESION.  91 

of  the  truths  of  the  gospel  in  a  way  it  never 
did  before.  It  gets  some  glimpses  of  Him  who 
is  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life.  The  clouds 
begin  to  break,  and  a  star  of  hope  appears ; 

'*It  is  the  Spirit's  rising  beam." 

As  the  natural  sun  does  not  from  midnight 
darkness  in  a  moment  burst  upon  the  world, 
so  in  most  cases  the  Sun  of  righteousness  rises 
gradually  upon  the  soul.  ' '  His  going  forth  is 
prepared  as  the  morning."  At  first,  he  who 
has  been  sore  troubled  is  comforted  by  his  new 
discoveries.  Hope  begins  to  gild  his  path,  and 
he  is  for  a  time  relieved  of  a  great  burden. 
But  often  this  state  of  mind  does  not  last  long, 
and  he  begins  to  fear  that  his  deep  impressions 
are  leaving  him.  He  is  alarmed  to  find  him- 
self becoming  cheerful.  He  tries  to  recover 
his  painful  feelings,  but  often  fails.  Sometimes 
he  has  his  wish,  and  then  his  soul  drinks  in  the 
wormwood.  He  then  cries  anew  to  the  Lord 
for  mercy,  and  the  light  of  God's  countenance 
begins  to  shine  upon  him  more  fully  and  clearly. 
He  may  soon  be  more  than  ever  at  a  loss  re- 
specting the  work  of  grace  within  him.  He 
cannot  be  sad  as  he  was,  because  the  Lord  is 
making  him  joyful.  He  is  afraid  to  rejoice, 
except  with  trembling,  for  his  soul  has  not  for- 


92  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

gotten  his  late  experience.  An  interruption  of 
the  pleasant  view  of  divine  things  he  had  en- 
joyed awakens  great  desires  for  its  return. 
But  to  regain  lost  comforts  is  not  always  easy. 
Once  gone,  the  soul  fears  lest  it  has  offended 
God  by  not  more  highly  prizing  them.  But 
when  the  light  returns,  it  is  commonly  with 
increased  brightness.  Thus  light  and  dark- 
ness often  alternate,  until  at  length  the  soul  is 
brought  to  a  more  settled  peace.  Fears  no 
longer  prevail.  Hope  is  in  the  ascendant. 
The  soul  sees  salvation  flowing  from  the  cross 
of  Christ,  and  begins  to  apprehend  the  spiritual 
import  of  such  phrases  as,  "through  Christ," 
"in  Christ  Jesus,''  "by  Jesus  Christ,"  "in  the 
name  of  Christ."  The  plan  of  redemption  now 
delights  him,  though  his  views  are  very  imper- 
fect ;  yet  he  wishes  no  other  prophet,  priest, 
or  king  than  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  rests  upon 
him  alone  for  salvation.  He  trusts  the  whole 
weight  of  his  soul  on  Him  who  bled  and  died 
on  Calvary. 

Were  you  to  ask  him  whether  he  supposed 
he  was  converted,  he  would  probably  say,  No. 
Yet  he  thinks  he  is  getting  into  the  right  way. 
Or  perhaps  he  would  say,  "I  do  not  know 
whether  I  am  converted  or  not ;  but  one  thing 


CONYICTION— CONVEKSION.  93 

I  know,  that  wliereas  I  was  blind,  now  I  see. 
Behold,  all  things  are  become  new."  He  looks 
on  time  and  eternity,  sin  and  holiness,  truth 
and  error,  the  Bible,  the  Saviour,  the  pious, 
the  world,  life  and  death,  things  present  and 
things  to  come,  in  a  new  light.  In  particular, 
he  is  pleased  with  the  fulness,  freeness,  power, 
kindness,  and  glory  of  Christ.  He  loves  and 
admires  the  Saviour  for  what  he  is,  for  what 
he  was,  for  what  he  shall  be,  for  what  he  has 
done,  for  what  he  is  doing,  and  for  what  he 
shall  yet  do  to  save  perishing  men.  He  loves 
what  Christ  loves,  and  hates  what  Christ  hates. 
He  can  look  back  a  short  time,  when  such  and 
such  portions  of  Scripture  were  brought  home 
to  his  soul  with  power  and  sweetness.  He  is 
greatly  surprised  and  mortified  at  a  review  of 
his  past  life.  He  wonders  with  i,unutterable 
wonder  how  he  could  have  remained  in  sin  so 
long.  And  then  he  weeps  tears  of  joy  and 
gratitude  that  He  who  made  him  has  had  mercy 
on  him. 

The  peace  now  found  is  solely  in  the  merit 
of  Christ.  The  soul  wholly  rejects  all  thoughts 
of  salvation  by  another.  The  gospel  way  is  so 
honorable  to  God  and  so  safe  for  the  sinner — 
it  so  perfectly  satisfies  the  demands  of  the  law 


94:  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

for  a  perfect  satisfaction  and  a  perfect  right- 
eousness, that  the  most  enlightened  sinner  says, 
Here  I  end  my  quest;  I  need  no  other  Sav- 
iour ;  now  by  faith  I  enter  into  rest. 

In  the  same  way  the  soul  obtains  purity. 
Grod  has  inseparably  united  pardon  and  purity, 
justification  and  sanctification.  No  man  is  freed 
from  God's  displeasure  without  being  cleansed 
in  his  own  nature  also.  Only  this  difference 
should  be  noted:  pardon  and  acceptance  are 
perfect  at  once;  purification  is  gradual  and 
progressive. 

When  the  soul  is  thus  sheltered  in  Christ, 
how  pleasant  it  is  to  consider  that  this  is  of  old 
the  hiding-place  of  the  penitent;  that  on  this 
refuge,  two  thousand  years  ago,  beat  the  aw- 
ful tempest  of  God's  wrath ;  but  even  at  the 
height  of  the  storm,  the  dying  thief  here  found 
shelter  and  salvation.  The  soul  that  is  thus  in 
Christ  cannot  perish.  It  was  wear}^  and  heavy- 
laden  ;  it  has  now  found  rest.  It  was  exposed 
and  doomed;  it  is  shielded  and  saved.' 

Such  a  soul  would  gladly  recommend  Christ 
to  others.  He  wishes  that  all  might  know  him 
and  find  refuge  in  him.  His  spirit  is  tender 
and  benevolent.  "When  the  Holy  Ghost  de- 
scended upon  the  Son  of  God,  he  borrowed  not 


CONVICTION— CONVEESION.  95 

the  semblance  of  a  bird  of  prey,  but  of  the 
mourning  and  tender  dove."  And  when  he 
now  descends  to  ' '  stamp  his  image  on  the  heart, 
the  impression  which  he  leaves  is  not  that  of 
fierceness  or  bitterness,  but  of  gentleness,  ten- 
derness, and  good  will  to  all  men."  To  such 
the  Sanctifier  becomes  the  Comforter.  "As 
the  dove  conveyed  to  Noah's  ark  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  subsiding  of  the  waters,  so  will 
the  heavenly  Dove  convey  to  the  soul  the  glad 
tidings  that  the  tempest  of  eternal  wrath  no 
longer  sweeps  over  her  path."  Every  soul 
that  comes  to  Christ  receives  the  earnest  of 
the  Spirit.  Terror  has  given  way  to  heav- 
enly peace ;  fear  has  yielded  to  hope  ;  distress 
has  been  succeeded  by  tranquillity;  darkness 
has  fled  before  the  brightness  of  the  rising  of 
the  Sun  of  righteousness. 

As  to  the  question  whether  a  man  knows 
the  time  of  his  conversion,  it  may  be  stated 
that  some  have  known  it.  The  thief  on  the 
cross,  Zaccheus,  the  jailer,  Paul,  and  the  three 
thousand  converted  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
evidently  knew  the  time  of  their  great  change. 
So  in  modern  times  men  may  be  able  to  point 
out  the  day  of  the  happy  saving  change.  If 
so,  very  well.     But  it  should  be  observed,  that 


96  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

many  who  think  they  know  the  time  are  mis- 
taken. This  is  true  of  those  boasting  hypo- 
crites who  never  were  converted  at  all,  as  their 
wicked  lives  show.  It  is  also  true  that  many 
humble,  diffident  persons  had  met  with  a  sav- 
ing change  long  before  they  ceased  to  write 
bitter  things  against  themselves,  or  ventured 
to  cherish  the  hope  that  they  had  already 
passed  from  death  unto  life. 

Let  not  any  w^ho  know  not  the  time  of  their 
conversion  be  cast  down,  if  they  now  have 
evidence  that  they  do  truly  love  the  Lord  Je- 
sus, if  they  now  keep  his  commandments.  It 
is  nowhere  said  in  the  Bible,  ye  must  know  the 
time  of  your  conversion ;  but  it  is  said.  Ye  must 
be  born  again.  The  change,  not  the  time  of 
its  occurrence,  is  the  essential  thing.  If  we 
pass  from  death  unto  life  by  the  power  of  God's 
Spirit,  it  cannot  endanger  our  salvation  to  be 
in  doubt  or  in  ignorance  of  the  time  w^hen  that 
happ3^  event  occurred. 

Again,  one  must  judge  of  his  own  state  by 
the  fruit  he  bears ;  and  fruit  that  is  ripe  in  an 
hour  will  perhaps  be  rotten  as  soon.  A  godly 
life  is  the  infallible  evidence  of  conversion. 
When  our  fruit  is-  unto  holiness,  we  know  that 
the  end  shall  be  everlasting  life.     Every  one 


CONVICTION— CONVERSION.  97 

who  hopes  that  he  is  converted  to  God  should 
examine  himself  and  prove  his  own  work,  and 
then  he  shall  have  rejoicing  in  himself  alone, 
and  not  in  another.  In  judging  of  piety,  there 
is  no  substitute  for  a  holy  life.  The  great 
peculiarity  of  God's  people  is  that  they  are 
"zealous  of  good  works."  In  spring  many  a 
tree  is  covered  with  beautiful  blossoms,  which 
are  not  in  autumn  followed  by  any  good  fruit. 
We  are  Christ's  disciples  if  we  do  whatsoever 
he  commands  us.  We  are  the  servants  of  the 
wicked  one  if  we  do  the  works  of  the  flesh. 
We  may  boast  of  discoveries,  of  raptures,  and 
ecstacies,  but  all  is  in  vain  if  a  consistent  life 
be  not  the  result.  So  that  many  who  say  that 
they  know  the  time  and  place  of  their  conver- 
sion are  unquestionably  deceived. 

Whether  a  man  knows  the  fact  of  his  con- 
version is  a  matter  that  admits  of  similar  re- 
marks. If  any  knows  that  he  is  converted,  let 
him  be  humble,  not  proud.  If  God  has  favor- 
ed him  with  unusually  bright  evidences,  let 
him  not  despise  his  brethren  who  are  in  pain- 
ful doubt  about  their  state.  Humility  is  an 
excellent  virtue.  There  is  indeed  a  sense  in 
which  a  man  cannot  be  converted  without 
knowing  it:  namely,  he  cannot  undergo  any 

ViUI  Godliness.  5 


98  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

change  in  his  views  and  affections  without  be- 
ing conscious  of  the  exercises  and  emotions  of 
his  mind  and  heart  thus  changed.  But  surely 
one  may  have  the  exercises  of  a  new-born  soul 
without  knowing  that  these  are  the  exercises 
of  a  renewed  nature.  The  miser  knows  what 
passes  in  his  own  mind,  but  he  does  not  know 
these  things  prove  him  a  wretch.  The  self- 
conceited  man  is  conscious  of  all  his  mental 
exercises,  but  is  far  from  seeing  that  they 
mark  him  out  as  a  poor  weak  creature.  So 
the  convert  cannot  know  that  his  views  and 
feelings  prove  him  a  child  of  God  until  he  is 
correctly  informed  by  the  Bible  what  consti- 
tutes piety.  So  that  a  man  must  first  search 
the  Scriptures  to  see  what  they  require  to 
prove  piety,  and  then  search  himself  to  see 
whether  he  has  what  is  thus  required  by  God's 
word.  The  result  of  such  examination  may  be 
satisfactory.  If  so,  a  good  foundation  is  laid 
for  permanent  peace  of  mind. 

In  corroboration  of  this  view,  it  may  be 
stated  that  with  cautious  minds  nothing  is 
harder  than  to  believe  as  one  wishes.  With 
what  difficulty  did  the  disciples  believe  that 
Christ  was  risen  from  the  dead.  Luke  24:41. 
How  often  do  we  hear  the  saying,  The  news  is 


CONVICTION— CONVEESION.  99 

too  good  to  be  believed.  It  was  so  with  the 
Jews  released  from  Babylon:  "When  the  Lord 
turned  again  the  captivity  of  Zion,  we  were 
like  them  that  dream."  Psa.  126  : 1.  Should 
any  say,  Is  it  possible  for  one  to  have  his  chains 
taken  off,  the  prison  doors  opened,  himself 
brought  out  and  set  free,  and  he  not  know  it  ? 
the  answer  is,  Yes.  This  may  be  done  liter- 
ally and  corporeally.  Peter  was  sleeping  in 
prison  between  two  soldiers,  and  bound  with 
two  chains,  when  the  angel  of  the  Lord  smote 
him  on  the  side  and  awaked  him.  His  chains 
then  fell  off,  and  he  girded  himself,  and  put  on 
his  sandals,  and  cast  his  garment  about  him, 
and  followed  the  angel,  as  he  was  bid  to  do. 
And  3^et  Peter  ' '  wist  not  that  it  was  true  which 
was  done  by  the  angel ;  but  thought  he  saw  a 
vision. '^  Nor  did  he  come  to  himself,  nor  was 
he  satisfied  of  his  deliverance  until  they  were 
past  the  first  and  second  ward,  until  they  had 
passed  the  iron  gate  which  led  unto  the  city, 
and  which  opened  to  them  of  its  own  accord, 
and  until  they  had  passed  through  one  street, 
and  the  angel  had  departed  from  him.  Acts 
12  :6-ll.  Here  we  have  a  man  going  through 
the  entire  process  of  being  awaked  out  of  sleep, 
of  hearing  the  angel's  words,  of  dropping  his 


100  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

chains,  of  girding  himself,  of  putting  on  his 
sandals,  of  throwing  his  garment  about  him, 
and  following  the  angel,  and  yet  doubting  the 
reality  of  the  whole  matter.  The  release  was 
so  marvellous  that  he  could  not  believe  it  true. 
Much  more  then  may  a  soul  be  brought  out  of 
its  prison-house,  have  the  chains  of  its  terrible 
condemnation  removed,  come  out  of  darkness 
into  the  marvellous  light  of  the  gospel,  and  yet 
doubt  whether  the  change  is  not  an  illusion,  a 
phantom,  a  dream.  He  says,  ''But  yesterday 
I  was  a  wretched  outcast,  a  child  of  wrath, 
forlorn  and  guilty.  Can  I  now  be  a  child  of 
God,  an  heir  of  glory,  with  my  sins  all  par- 
doned, and  myself  accepted  and  regenerated  ? 
It  cannot  be  so.  The  thought  is  too  pleasant 
to  be  indulged."  He  who  is  truly  enlightened 
and  converted  has  had  his  eyes  opened  to  see 
the  exceeding  excellence  and  importance  of 
divine  things,  and  if  he  is  to  be  assured  of  his 
interest  in  them,  he  must  have  solid  grounds 
of  hope. 

If  any  ask  for  the  infallible  signs  of  a  sav- 
ing change,  a  sound  conversion,  we  must  again 
refer  them  to  a  godly  life.  But  there  are  some 
very  strong  points  in  which  a  genuine  conver- 
sion is  always  distinguished  from  a  spurious 


CONVICTION— CONYEESION.  101 

change.  Gutlirie  notices  three  particulars  in 
which  all  are  deficient  unless  they  are  real 
Christians  : 

"1,  They  are  not  broken  in  their  hearts, 
and  emptied  of  their  righteousness. 

"2.  They  never  took  up  Christ  Jesus  as 
the  only  treasure  and  jewel  that  can  enrich 
and  should  satisfy,  and  therefore  have  never 
cordially  agreed  to  God's  device  in  the  cove- 
nant, and  so  are  not  worthy  of  him,  neither 
has  the  kingdom  of  God  savingly  entered  into 
their  heart:  'The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like 
unto  a  treasure  hid  in  the  field  ;  the  which 
w^hen  a  man  hath  found,  he  hideth,  and  for 
joy  thereof  selleth  all  that  he  hath,  and  buyeth 
that  field.' 

"3.  They  never  in  earnest  closed  with 
Christ's  wdiole  yoke  without  exception,  judg- 
ing all  his  will  just  and  good,  holy  and  spirit- 
ual, and  therefore  no  rest  followed  on  them  by 
Christ:  'Take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  ye  shall 
find  rest  unto  your  souls.' " 

If  any  thing  else  needs  to  be  added,  it  is 
that  the  self-deceived  are  as  much  like  Chris- 
tians at  the  first  as  at  the  last.  They  do  not 
grow  in  grace,  for  they  have  none.  They  may 
increase  in  outward  manifestations  and  profes- 


102  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

sions,  but  never  in  a  godlike  temper.  *'  True 
grace  is  a  growing  princijDle." 

Where  conversion  is  genuine,  it  will  jDrove 
it-self  more  and  more.  Especially  do  the  Scrip- 
tures insist  much  on  the  possession  of  a  child- 
like temper  and  disposition.  Thus  a  little  child 
is  humble.  The  child  of  the  king  and  of  the  beg- 
gar, left  to  themselves,  would  meet  on  the  same 
level  and  freely  mingle  together.  So  the  true 
convert  has  such  a  sense  of  his  own  vileness 
that  he  readily  esteems  others  better  than  him- 
self.    A  proud  Christian  is  a  contradiction. 

In  like  manner  he  is  meek.  So  far  as  he 
is  like  Christ,  he  is  not  disposed  to  strive,  or 
cry,  or  lift  up,  or  cause  his  voice  to  be  heard 
in  the  streets.  He  is  not  boisterous  nor  clam- 
orous nor  contentious.  To  this  his  previous 
training  has  brought  him.  God  has  dealt  with 
him  as  he  has,  that  he  may  remember  and  be 
confounded,  and  never  open  his  mouth  any 
more  because  of  his  shame,  when  the  Lord  is 
pacified  towards  him  for  all  that  he  has  done. 
His  soul  is  even  as  a  weaned  child.  Ezekiel 
16:23;  Psa.  131:2. 

So  also  a  child  is  teachable.  It  is  not  in- 
flated with  self-conceit.  It  claims  not  to  be 
wise  in  things  it  knows  nothing  of,  but  sits  at 


CONVICTION— CONVEKSION.  103 

the  feet  of  teachers  and  learns  its  lessons.  So 
the  true  convert  sits  at  the  feet  of  Jesns  and 
learns  from  him  the  lessons  of  heavenly  wis- 
dom. God's  word  binds  his  conscience,  but 
he  calls  no  man  master.  None  is  more  free 
from  drinking  in  notions  and  forming  opinions 
without  good  cause,  but  on  the  veracity  of  God 
he  rests  with  entire  confidence. 

In  the  same  spirit  a  child  looks  to  its  par- 
ent for  protection,  for  food  and  raiment,  and 
for  comfort  in  distress.  So  the  child  of  God 
casts  his  care  upon  an  almighty  arm,  hides 
himself  under  the  shadow  of  the  Lord's  wings, 
and  trusts  him  for  all.  He  calls  upon  the  Lord. 
"Behold,  he  prayeth."  It  is  not  more  natural 
for  a  living  child  to  breathe  than  it  is  for  a  liv- 
ing Christian  to  pray. 

Little  children  must  also  obey  their  father. 
So  all  true  converts  sincerely  and  heartily  do 
the  will  of  God.  Neither  fancy  nor  pleasure 
nor  habit  nor  convenience  nor  ease  nor  pub- 
lic opinion,  but  God's  known  will  must  be  our 
guide.  After  conversion  it  is  our  guide.  Ev- 
ery true  convert  says,  ''Lord,  what  wilt  thou 
have  me  to  do  ?" 

'Taitli  must  obey  her  Father's  "wiH, 
As  well  as  trust  his  word." 


104:  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

He  who  has  met  with  such  a  change  shall 
not  perish,  but  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  ot 
heaven.  No  power  in  heaven  will  hinder  him, 
and  no  power  in  earth  or  in  hell  can  hinder 
him  in  achieving  a  final  victory.  Speaking  of 
such,  Paul  says,  "I  am  persuaded  that  neither 
death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities, 
nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things  to 
come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other 
creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the 
love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our 
Lord."     Eom.  8  :  38,  39. 

The  change  thus  described  is  essential  to 
salvation.  Unless  we  are  turned  from  sin  to 
holiness,  iniquity  will  be  our  ruin.  We  are 
naturally  sunk  down  into  sin;  yet  ''without 
holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord.'^  It  is  only 
by  a  sound  conversion  that  we  acquire  any 
genuine  Christian  virtue.  This  is  a  very  sol- 
emn and  weighty  truth.  It  should  alarm  the 
wicked.  It  should  make  all  men  diligent  in 
working  out  their  salvation  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling. He  who  is  to  be  the  final  Judge  of 
quick  and  dead  has  said,  ''Except  ye  be  con- 
verted, and  become  as  little  children,  ye  can- 
not enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Here 
is  something  declared  to  be  absolutely  neces- 


CONVICTION— CONVEKSION.  105 

sary.  Less  wealth,  less  public  honor,  less 
pleasure,  less  health  than  men  now  possess 
may  fall  to  their  lot,  and  yet  they  attain  to 
the  highest  end  of  existence.  A  dying  man 
called  his  son  to  him,  and  said,  "Hold  your 
finger  in  the  blaze  of  that  candle  for  one  min- 
ute.'' The  son  refused.  Then  said  the  father, 
"Do  you  refuse  to  hold  your  finger  there  for 
one  minute  for  me  ?  and  I,  because  I  have 
spent  my  life  in  heaping  up  riches  for  you, 
shall  endure  the  flames  of  hell  for  ever."  Men 
must  be  converted.  Without  that  great  change 
they  are  eternally  undone.  There  is  no  safety 
out  of  Christ.  There  is  no  salvation  without 
turning  to  the  Lord.  Personal  dignity,  natu- 
ral amiability,  ofiicial  sanctity  will  save  no 
man. 


5* 


106  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

CHAPTER   YII. 

CASES  OE  KELIGIOUS  DISTEESS. 

It  is  not  uncommon  for  persons  to  have 
some  experience  in  religion  which  is  highly 
unsatisfactory  to  themselves.  They  have  dis- 
tressing and  prevailing  apprehensions  that  they 
have  never  closed  in  with  Christ;  nor  has  a 
good  hope  through  grace  ever  filled  their  hearts 
to  overflowing  with  joy  and  peace;  and  yet 
they  are  not  careless  on  the  subject.  At  times 
they  are  deeply  exercised  and  sore  vexed. 
The  case  of  such  calls  for  the  tenderest  con- 
cern of  those  who  care  for  souls,  as  well  as  the 
liveliest  interest  on  their  own  part.  Their 
views  of  their  lost  and  undone  condition  are 
not  too  strong.  Their  hearts  are  as  unclean, 
their  guilt  is  as  great,  their  enemies  as  numer- 
ous as  they  have  ever  supposed  them  to  be. 
They  are  beset  with  difi5culties.  They  see  the 
way,  but  are  unable  to  walk  in  it.  They  ap- 
prove but  do  not  relish  the  things  that  are 
more  excellent.  Their  hopes  are  crossed ;  their 
souls  are  grieved. 

To  meet  such  cases  in  all  their  variety  is  a 


RELIGIOUS  DISTRESS.  107 

binding  and  difficult  part  of  ministerial  duty. 
To  state  all  the  shades  of  grief  and  temptation 
is  not  possible.  But  there  are  general  princi- 
ples of  religion  which  are  more  or  less  suited 
to  many  cases.  Besides,  religious  biography 
has  shed  much  light  on  this  whole  subject.  It 
is  greatly  to  the  relief  of  many  minds  to  find 
that  no  temptations  have  befallen  them  but 
such  as  are  common  to  men. 

Sometimes  one  is  full  of  fears  lest  he  may 
have  committed  the  unpardonable  sin.  Not 
unfrequently  this  apprehension  is  distressingly 
impressed  on  the  mind  by  means  of  some  por- 
tion of  Scripture.  Often  will  you  hear  cited 
that  text,  "For  ye  know  that  afterward,  when 
he  would  have  inherited  the  blessing,  he  was 
rejected ;  for  he  found  no  place  of  repentance, 
though  he  sought  it  carefully  with  tears." 
Heb.  12:17. 

As  this  is  a  very  important  case,  and  often 
causes  deep  anguish  of  mind,  it  should  not  be 
lightly  dismissed.  Some  have  thought  that 
the  unpardonable  sin  could  not  be  committed 
since  miracles  have  ceased.  But  the  Scrip- 
tures will  not  bear  out  such  a  statement.  It  is 
true  the  sin  was  no  doubt  often  committed 
when  the  truth  was  visibly  demonstrated  by 


108  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

undeniable  signs  and  wonders.  But  it  may 
also  be  committed  when  these  miracles  have 
passed  away. 

Others  have  thought  that,  though  the  sin 
may  possibly  be  committed  in  our  day,  yet  the 
cases  in  which  this  is  actually  done  are  very 
few.  Whatever  definition  is  commonly  given 
of  this  sin,  this  opinion  seems  to  be  without 
good  foundation.  Sound  writers  are  pretty 
well  agreed  that  the  unpardonable  sin  is  an 
act  of  one  who  is  much  enlightened  and  at  the 
same  time  highly  malicious  against  Grod.  Light 
and  malice  are  both  essential  to  its  existence. 
The  light  here  spoken  of  respects  spiritual 
things.  The  malice  is  directed  against  the 
person,  work  or  offices  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Thus  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which 
was  given  him  without  measure,  Jesus  Christ 
wrought  miracles.  The  Jews,  who  beheld 
these  wonders,  knew  that  they  could  be  the 
product  of  none  but  divine  power.  But  they 
so  hated  the  Lord  Jesus  that  they  ascribed  his 
miracles  to  a  Satanic  influence,  and  thus  com- 
mitted the  sin  which  hath  never  forgiveness, 
neither  in  this  world,  nor  in  that  which  is  to 
come.     Matt.  12:22-32. 

If  this  view  be  correct,  it  follows  that  no 


RELIGIOUS  DISTRESS.  109 

reason  can  be  given  why  this  sin  may  not  be 
committed  in  this  day.  We  may  not  have  all 
the  occasions  for  its  commission  which  the  Jews 
of  Christ's  day  had;  but  we  never  lack  occa- 
sions when  we  have  dispositions  to  commit  this 
kind  of  sin.  Indeed,  as  the  present  is  an  age 
when  the  light  of  truth  in  many  places  shines 
very  clearly,  and  as  the  minds  of  many  thus 
enlightened  seem  very  bitter  and  malicious 
against  religion,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  many 
commit  this  sin.  Some  have  thought  that 
there  never  was  an  age  when  the  unpardon- 
able sin  was  more  common.  But  this  cannot 
be  proved.  Yet  in  wonderful  displays  of 
grace  and  mercy  in  revivals  of  religion,  how 
many  who  witness  the  most  afifecting  scenes, 
and  are  themselves  powerfully  wrought  upon, 
do  yet  harden  their  hearts  until  they  even 
scoff  at  sacred  things,  laugh  at  the  work  of  the 
Spirit,  and  call  all  vital  religion  fanaticism  and 
the  work  of  Satan.  If  such  have  the  light 
which  in  many  cases  they  profess  to  have,  how 
does  their  case  differ  from  that  of  the  Pharisees 
when  they  saw  Christ's  miracles?  In  many 
ways  men  may  commit  the  unpardonable  sin ; 
so  that  he  who  would  not  sin  beyond  forgive- 
ness, must  take  heed  how  he  trifles  with  holy 


110  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

things.    This  thought  should  produce  in  men  a 
salutary  alarm. 

As  to  the  question  whether  a  distressed 
soul  has  actually  committed  this  sin,  it  is 
proper  to  enter  into  several  inquiries.  Let 
one  thus  distressed  look  at  the  state  of  mind  in 
which  he  did  that  act  which  he  now  fears  was 
the  unpardonable  sin.  Was  it  done  wilfully, 
spitefully,  knowingly?  Did  he  intend  to  re- 
nounce God's  Spirit  for  ever  ?  To  explain  a 
little.  Peter  denied  his  Master,  knowing  that 
he  was  thus  uttering  falsehood.  But  he  did  it 
through  fear  of  man,  and  not  through  malice 
against  Christ.  Therefore  his  denial  of  Christ 
was  not  the  unpardonable  sin.  On  the  other 
hand,  Saul  persecuted  the  church  maliciously. 
He  breathed  out  threatenings  and  slaughter. 
He  was  exceeding  mad  against  all  Christians. 
But  he  did  all  this  ''ignorantly  in  unbelief." 
He  knew  not  what  he  was  doing.  Therefore 
his  zeal  against  Christians  was  not  the  unpar- 
donable sin.  But  if  Peter  had,  together  with 
his  knowledge  of  the  matter,  denied  his  Lord 
with  the  malice  with  which  Saul  persecuted 
the  church  ;  or  if  Saul,  with  all  his  malice,  had 
persecuted  the  church  with  the  knowledge  with 
which  Peter  denied  his  Lord,  then  in  either 


RELIGIOUS  DISTRESS.  Ill 

case  the  unpardonable  sin  would  probably  have 
been  committed.  Therefore  let  any  one  who 
fears  his  guilt  in  this  matter,  ask  himself  if  the 
deed  which  brings  such  terror  to  his  mind  was 
accompanied  with  this  light  and  malice.  If 
not,  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  soul  has  sin- 
ned beyond  repentance. 

Again,  let  one  inquire  what  state  of  mind 
followed  the  act  that  creates  such  apprehen- 
sions. Was  it  "a  certain  fearful  looking  for 
of  judgment  ?''  Did  the  door  of  hope  seem  to 
be  quite  closed  ?  Did  the  desire  of  reconcilia- 
tion with  Grod  fully  leave  the  soul ;  or  was  the 
dreadful  act  followed  by  utter  insensibility, 
stupidity,  and  a  seared  conscience  ?  Did  you 
become  wholly  indifferent  to  salvation  ?  Did 
you  have  no  wish  to  be  made  pure  and  holy, 
humble  and  penitent?  Such  desires  are  not 
given  to  the  God-forsaken.  He  who  has  com- 
mitted this  sin  never  after  hungers  and  thirsts 
after  righteousness.  Such  a  state  of  mind 
shows  that  the  Holy  Spirit  has  not  finally  de- 
serted the  soul.  Good  desires  are  as  truly 
from  heaven  as  any  other  good  thing  ever 
enjoyed. 

It  is  proper  to  add,  that  unworthy  partak- 
ing of  the  Lord's  supper,   unless  done  with 


112  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

despite  to  the  Spirit  of  grace  and  with  con- 
tempt of  all  sacred  things,  cannot  be  proven 
to  be  the  unpardonable  sin.  Although  unwor- 
thy communion  is  a  sin  to  be  repented  of,  yet 
it  may  be  and  often  has  been  forgiven. 

It  is  doubtless  sometimes  in  our  power  to 
know  when  one  has  sinned  beyond  forgiveness. 
This  is  implied  in  the  words  of  John:  "If  any 
man  see  his  brother  sin  a  sin  which  is  not  unto 
death,  he  shall  ask,  and  he  shall  give  him  life 
for  them  that  sin  not  unto  death.  There  is  a 
sin  unto  death ;  I  do  not  say  that  he  shall  pray 
for  if  1  John  5:16.  Yet  we  should  use 
great  caution  in  such  a  matter.  Some  one 
expressed  the  belief  that  Bunj^an  had  commit- 
ted this  sin.  This  statement  had  an  exceed- 
ingly dreadful  effect  on  his  mind  for  a  while ; 
but  God  would  not  let  him  perish,  and  made 
him  a  chosen  vessel  in  his  church.  Yet  cases 
may  occur  in  which  good  men  will  feel  no  lib- 
erty in  praying  for  an  offender.  The  number 
of  such  is  larger  than  some  suppose. 

The  last  remark  on  this  point  is,  that  if  you 
desire  salvation  through  the  blood  of  Christ 
and  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  is  clear 
that  God  has  not  given  you  up,  though  your 
sins  may  be  both  numerous  and  aggravated. 


BELIGIOUS  DISTRESS.  113 

The  air  we  breathe,  the  water  we  drink,  is 
not  more  free  than  is  gospel  grace.  The  cry- 
is,  "Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye  to 
the  waters,  and  he  that  hath  no  money,  come 
ye,  bny  and  eat;  yea,  come,  buy  wine  and 
milk,  without  money  and  without  price."  Isa. 
55:1. 

Another  state  of  mind,  accompanied  with 
great  depression  and  much  difficulty,  is  where 
one  stoutly  argues  from  his  own  wickedness  of 
heart  that  his  salvation  is  impossible.  A  man 
sometimes  says,  "I  would  go  to  Christ,  but  he 
is  so  holy  and  I  am  so  sinful;  he  is  spotless, 
and  I  am  all  pollution  and  guilt.''  In  dealing 
with  one  thus  afflicted,  several  things  may  be 
said.  One  is,  that  evil  imaginations  are  the 
natural  product  of  the  carnal  mind.  "Out  of 
the  heart  proceed  evil  thoughts,  murders,  adul- 
teries, fornications,  thefts,  false  witness,  blas- 
phemies." Matt.  15  :  19.  There  is  no  form  of 
wickedness  too  strange  or  dreadful  for  an  un- 
sanctified  heart.  He  who  now  complains  so 
bitterly  of  his  corrupt  thoughts  and  affections, 
is  not  a  worse  man  than  he  was  formerly,  but 
God  is  teaching  him  how  wicked  he  has  been. 
The  great  difference  between  present  and  past 
states  of  mind  is  this,  that  now  the  man  sees 


114:  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

how  vile  his  heart  is,  whereas  once  he  took  no 
notice  of  the  swarms  of  evil  thoughts  which 
passed  through  his  breast.  The  present  is  not 
the  only  sinful  state  to  be  repented  of.  The 
prayer  should  ascend,  ''Remember  not  against 
me  the  sins  of  my  youth ;  make  me  not  to  pos- 
sess the  iniquities  of  former  years."  It  may 
also  be  stated  that  the  exercises  of  such  a  one 
may  now  be  less  criminal  than  formerly,  and 
this  for  two  reasons.  One  is,  that  he  now  offers 
a  sincere  though  inadequate  resistance  to  evil 
thoughts,  whereas  formerly  he  welcomed  them. 
Another  is,  that  from  his  manifest  distress  at 
them,  it  is  evident  that  they  are  the  tempta- 
tions of  the  wicked  one.  We  are  guilty  in  so 
far  as  we  entertain  the  suggestions  of  the  wick- 
ed one,  and  not  merely  because  we  are  made 
to  feel  the  annoyances  of  his  temptations.  But 
grant  that  any  man's  heart  is  far  worse  than  it 
ever  was  before,  or  than  he  even  now  sees  it 
to  be,  this  is  a  good  reason  for  applying  to 
Christ.  It  is  no  reason  for  staying  away  from 
him.  When  one  sees  the  wickedness  of  his 
own  heart,  it  is  evident  that  God  has  not  yet 
delivered  him  up  to  ruin,  for  he  is  showing 
him  his  sins.  These  heart  troubles  show  that 
nothing  short  of  a  thorough,  internal,  powerful 


EELIGIOUS  DISTEESS.  115 

change  of  nature  can  ever  fit  the  soul  for  the 
abodes  of  the  blessed  in  heaven.  And  this 
very  corruption,  so  much  lamented,  should  be 
a  powerful  argument  for  making  speedy  appli- 
cation to  Christ  for  pardon  and  peace,  for  rec- 
onciliation and  purification.  But  from  such  a 
state  of  mind  to  conclude  that  one  may  not 
come  to  Christ  and  plead  for  mercy  is  wholly 
unscriptural.  It  is  entirely  opposed  to  the 
gospel  offer.  This  very  state  of  mind  and 
heart  calls  for  the  interposition  of  almighty 
power  and  amazing  grace  ;  and  to  exercise 
these  is  the  delight  of  the  redeeming  Son  of 
God.  Though  one  be  more  vile  than  tongue 
can  express — though  the  heart  be  a  sink  of  sin, 
a  fountain  of  iniquity,  yet  he  may  safely  trust 
his  cause  with  Jesus  Christ.  He  came  to  set 
at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised,  to  give  life  to 
the  perishing,  and  salvation  to  the  lost.  Let 
every  soul  be  persuaded  to  come  to  Jesus 
Christ. 

He  who  thus  complains  of  the  wickedness 
of  his  heart,  may  the  next  hour  complain  that 
he  has  no  just  sense  of  his  great  sinfulness  in 
the  sight  of  God.  This  state  of  mind  is  not 
inconsistent  with  that  last  spoken  of,  though 
an  ignorant  person  might  so  think.     One  rea- 


116  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

son  why  many  a  sinner  is  desirous  of  seeing 
more  of  his  wickedness,  is  that  he  thinks  there 
is  some  merit  or  profit  in  having  distressing 
views  of  his  undone  condition.  But  this  is  sure- 
ly a  mistake.  There  is  no  more  merit  in  a  bad 
man  seeing  his  vileness,  than  there  is  in  a  good 
man  seeing  his  own  uprightness.  But  suppose 
a  man  should  see  the  worst  of  his  case,  and 
view  his  depravity  as  God  views  it,  would  it 
not  drive  him  to  despair  ?  With  the  clearest 
views  of  the  fulness  and  freeness  of  Christ  ever 
attained  on  earth,  it  would  probably  be  impos- 
sible to  keep  any  man  from  giving  up  all  hope 
if  he  saw  his  sins  in  all  their  guilt  and  number, 
baseness  and  aggravations.  God  is  therefore 
very  merciful  in  permitting  us  to  see  enough 
of  our  lost  condition  to  make  the  gospel  ofi'er 
glad  tidings  to  us ;  but  he  is  no  less  merciful 
in  withholding  such  views  of  our  sins  as  would 
drive  us  to  despair.  And  if  any  one  would 
have  a  clearer  and  more  salutary  view  of  his 
own  wickedness,  let  him  repent  of  all  the  sin 
he  sees  chargeable  to  him  and  obtain  pardon 
through  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  in  due  season 
his  wish  shall  be  gratified.  No  man  will  make;; 
very  rapid  and  profitable  attainments  in  the 
knowledge  of  his  own  wickedness  until  he  has 


EELIGIOUS  DISTEESS.  117 

fled  to  Christ,  and  in  good  earnest  begun  the 
work  of  "mortif3'ing  his  members  which  are 
upon  the  earth."  Col.  3:5.  In  good  earnest 
begin  this  work,  and  you  will  soon  find  that 
you  are  carnal,  sold  under  sin,  and  that  all 
former  views  of  your  lost  estate  were  very 
defective. 

Another  distressing  state  is  where  there  is 
a  continual  tendency  in  the  mind  to  despair. 
Satan  would  have  all  men  presumptuous  or 
desperate.  In  the  human  heart  are  many  ele- 
ments which  favor  his  designs.  The  language 
of  perfect  despair  is,  "There  is  no  mercy  for 
me  ;  others  may  be  saved,  but  my  case  is  pe- 
culiar ;  my  soul  is  lost."  But  there  are  vari- 
ous degrees  of  hopelessness,  or  of  tendency 
towards  it.  To  drive  away  all  hope,  Satan 
often  greatly  terrifies  one  by  a  view  of  his 
sins,  points  him  to  the  holiness  and  inflexible 
justice  of  God,  and  tells  him  that  he  ought  to 
know  that  with  such  a  God  there  is  no  mercy 
for  him.  He  reminds  him  of  the  length  of 
time  he  has  been  seeking  the  Lord,  and  has 
not  found  him.  He  reminds  him  of  others  who 
in  less  time  have  attained  a  comfortable  hope 
and  settled  peace.  These  and  many  other 
things  does  the  adversary  urge,  that  he  may 


118  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

cut  off  all  liope  and  leave  the  soul  palsied  with 
despondency.  Sometimes  he  has  fatal  success. 
Sometimes  he  but  harasses  it  for  a  season,  and 
then  follows  deliverance.  When  he  succeeds 
entirely,  the  soul  becomes  stubborn,  hardened, 
and  fearfully  rebellious ;  and  a  less  degree  of 
the  temptation  of  the  adversary  may  be  highly 
injurious  for  the  time.  When  the  prisoner  of 
hope  becomes  the  prisoner  of  despair,  he  is 
gone  ;  and  when  he  sees  things  in  a  very 
gloomy  light,  he  may  be  sore  vexed. 

Let  all  who  are  tempted  to  despair  well 
weigh  the  following  things :  Unbelief  is  the 
only  sin  by  which  a  hearer  of  the  gospel  will 
seal  his  own  ruin,  and  despair  is  the  perfection 
of  unbelief.  To  refuse  to  rely  upon  Christ's 
finished  work  is  to  reject  the  sinner's  only 
hope.  Unbelief  is  a  great  sin.  The  greater 
its  power,  the  greater  our  guilt.  As  despair 
is  unbelief  consummated,  it  is  superlative  wick- 
edness. If  any  man  fears  sin,  let  him  chiefly 
fear  this  sin.  It  takes  hold  on  destruction. 
No  man  can  be  justified  or  sanctified  in  whose 
heart  this  principle  of  pride,  darkness,  and 
stubbornness  reigns.  There  may  be  a  volun- 
tary humility  in  despair,  but  that  is  only  an- 
other name  for  pride.    Despair  also  goes  upon 


KELIGIOUS  DISTKESS.  119 

the  ground  that  men  are  saved  either  by  their 
own  deservings,  or  because  they  have  not 
greatly  offended,  and  thus  it  excludes  the  sal- 
vation of  the  gospel,  which  is  for  the  chief  of 
sinners.  And  despair  is  full  of  stubbornness. 
What  is  a  greater  sin  than  to  refuse  to  trust 
God  when  he  bids  us  believe  him ;  to  decline 
to  lean  upon  him  when  he  extends  to  us  his 
hand  ?  We  cannot  have  too  low  an  opinion  of 
ourselves,  or  too  high  an  opinion  of  Christ. 
"It  is  the  great  design  of  the  Scriptures  to 
teach  the  best  to  despair  of  being  self-saved ; 
the  worst  not  to  despair  of  being  saved  by 
Christ,  and  to  offer  to  all  the  help  they  v^^ant." 

The  foregoing  are  examples  of  the  distresses 
and  difficulties  which  often  beset  a  soul  in  its 
endeavors  to  turn  to  the  Lord.  There  are 
many  cases  like  them.  And  there  are  others 
of  an  extraordinary  kind,  which  cannot  be  an- 
ticipated. If  any  man  is  overcome  by  the  ad- 
versary in  these  matters,  the  fault  is  his  own. 
He  has  procured  these  things  to  himself.  Such 
fruits  never  grow  but  in  depraved  hearts.  For 
the  direction  of  such  as  are  truly  desirous  of 
being  guided  in  the  right  way,  the  following 
suggestions  may  be  profitable. 

Beware  of  a  spirit  of  impatience  towards 


120  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

God.  With  yourself  you  cannot  be  too  much 
dissatisfied,  until  you  believe  in  Christ  and 
cease  from  sin.  But  with  Grod  and  his  ways 
you  have  no  right  to  find  fault.  He  is  right- 
eous altogether.  Every  sentiment  of  impa- 
tience towards  him  is  highly  criminal.  During 
long  years  of  rebellion,  God  waited  on  you  for 
your  return ;  and  will  you  not  let  him  judge 
the  fittest  time  to  grant  you  the  light  of  his 
countenance  and  the  joy  of  his  salvation?  "I 
waited  patiently  for  the  Lord ;  and  he  inclined 
unto  me,  and  heard  my  cry."'  Psa.  40  : 1. 
God  will  not  be  dictated  to.  Impatience  is 
both  a  sin  and  a  hinderance.  It  speeds  no  de- 
liverance.    It  must  be  laid  aside. 

Be  not  asking  the  advice  of  many  in  your 
sore  perplexities.  One  good  adviser  is  worth  a 
thousand  who  know  nothing  thoroughly.  And 
yet  the  most  weak  are  often  the  most  ready  to 
proffer  their  services.  The  man  of  your  coun- 
sel in  all  religious  doubts  and  trials  should  be 
God's  precious  word.  Human  advisers  are 
apt  to  say,  "Lo,  here  is  Christ;"  and  again, 
''Lo,  there  is  Christ."  But  the  Bible  always 
speaks  a  uniform,  consistent  language.  It 
always  points  to  one  star,  that  of  Bethlehem ; 
to  one  garden,  that  of  Gethsemane;   to  one 


RELIGIOUS  DISTRESS.  121 

sacrifice,  that  of  Calvary;  to  one  sepulchre, 
that  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea. 

Believe  not  that  your  convictions  are  too 
deep  and  too  strong  ever  to  leave  you.  They 
are  perhaps  not  stronger  than  those  of  Felix 
when  he  trembled,  of  Herod  when  he  heard 
John  and  did  many  things  gladly,  of  Ahab 
when  he  humbled  himself,  or  of  king  Saul 
when  he  lifted  up  his  voice  and  wept.  Con- 
viction is  not  a  saving  grace.  It  is  itself  no 
pledge  of  salvation.  It  may  leave  one  mid- 
way between  carelessness  and  conversion,  just 
as  Lot's  wife  was  left  between  Sodom  and  Zoar. 
If  your  convictions  do  not  lead  to  Christ,  and 
that  speedily,  you  may  become  familiar  with 
them,  and  their  effect  be  lost  upon  you.  Con- 
viction is  not  conversion.  Conviction  can  save 
no  man. 

Misconceive  not  the  terms  of  salvation. 
On  this  point  there  is  much  danger.  Be  spe- 
cially guarded  that  you  do  not  attempt  to  sub- 
stitute your  own  distress  of  mind  for  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ.  Sin  is  neither  pardoned  nor 
expelled  by  the  anguish  of  any  sinful  worm. 
The  more  distressed  men  are,  the  stouter  is 
their  continued  rebellion.  Your  own  suffer- 
ings, in  this  world  or  the  next,  cannot  save  you. 

Vital  Godliness.  Q 


122  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

No  tears,  no  blood,  no  cross,  no  death,  no  in- 
tercession but  those  of  Christ  can  avail  for  any. 
Never  lose  sight  of  the  blessed  truth,  that 
salvation  is  wholly  by  grace,  through  faith  in 
Christ  Jesus. 

Guard  against  false  hopes.  If  the  adver- 
sary sees  you  determined  not  to  live  without 
hope,  he  will  earnestly  endeavor  to  persuade 
you  to  build  upon  the  sand ;  to  lead  you  into 
mistakes  respecting  the  nature  of  true  conver- 
sion and  the  ground  of  justification.  He  is  the 
arch  deceiver.  He  is  full  of  all  subtlety.  If 
it  were  possible,  he  would  deceive  the  very 
elect.  A  sinner  under  conviction  is  in  great 
danger  of  being  more  anxious  to  be  comforted 
than  to  be  converted.  The  world  is  full  of 
popular  errors  on  this  subject.  Nor  can  any 
man  be  too  careful  in  counting  the  cost,  in 
looking  well  to  the  foundations,  in  testing  his 
own  exercises  by  Scripture.  Sometimes  anx- 
ious souls  are  told  that  they  must  believe. 
When  they  ask,  What  must  we  believe  ?  they 
are  told  that  they  must  believe  that  their  sins 
are  pardoned  and  their  souls  converted.  If 
some  to  whom  such  counsels  are  given  should 
adopt  them,  they  would  believe  a  lie.  We 
must  believe  the  gospel;   then  we  shall  be 


RELIGIOUS  DISTEESS.  123 

saved.  But  to  believe  that  we  are  interested 
in  the  salvation  of  Christ  is  a  very  different 
thing.  The  truth  to  be  believed  is,  that  Christ 
is  able  and  willing  to  save  our  souls  from  sin 
and  death — not  that  he  has  already  done  it. 
On  this  subject  the  Bible  is  explicit.  It  al- 
ways holds  up  Christ,  and  not  ourselves,  nor 
our  pardon,  nor  our  conversion,  as  the  object 
of  saving  faith.  "Believe  on  the  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved.^'  Acts 
16:31. 

Be  not  led  into  the  discussion  of  dark,  ab- 
struse, and  therefore  useless  questions;  and 
enter  into  no  heated  discussion  of  any  subject. 
Such  an  exercise  is  well  suited  to  put  a  stum- 
bling-block in  the  wa}^  to  heaven.  If  any  en- 
deavor to  divert  your  mind  to  a  matter  of  no 
importance,  or  to  undue  interest  about  any 
thing  not  essential  to  salvation,  withdraw  from 
such.  Your  great  business  is  reconciliation 
with  God.  Whatever  hinders  this  is  hostile 
to  your  best  interests.  Stifle  not  convictions ; 
grieve  not  the  Spirit  by  going  eagerly  after  a 
thing  of  little  or  no  importance. 

Keep  constantly  in  mind  that  no  pains,  no 
distress,  no  tears,  no  prayers  will  be  of  any 
avail,  unless  we  are  soundly  converted,  being 


124  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

turned  from  darkness  to  light,  from  sin  to  ho- 
liness. 

*'  Our  nature 's  totally  depraved, 
The  heart  a  sink  of  sin ; 
Without  a  change  we  can't  be  saved ; 
We  must  be  born  again. " 

How  much  or  how  little  you  may  feel, 
whether  you  have  many  or  few  thoughts, 
whether  you  are  happy  or  miserable,  in  hope 
or  despair,  in  carelessness  or  under  convic- 
tion, will  avail  nothing,  if  you  live  and  die 
without  genuine  holiness.  But  this  cannot  be 
obtained  without  a  renewal  of  our  whole  na- 
ture. Holy  views,  holy  frames  of  mind,  holy 
tempers,  holy  affections,  and  holy  purposes 
must  take  the  place  of  our  spiritual  ignorance, 
our  wicked  prejudices,  our  carnal  affections, 
our  sinful  plans,  or  we  cannot  go  to  the  Father. 
Oh  that  men  everywhere  would  cry  mightily, 
''Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  0  God,  and  re- 
new a  right  spirit  within  me." 

Let  all  men  know  that,  until  they  surren- 
der themselves  into  the  hands  of  the  Saviour, 
they  are  throwing  away  all  their  opportuni- 
ties. Christ  is  full  of  kindness  and  tenderness. 
None  is  so  pitiful  as  he.  Look  at  his  sorrow 
as  he  beheld  the  city  of  his  enemies  and  mur- 
derers.    "When  he  was  come  near,  he  beheld 


RELIGIOUS  DISTRESS.  125 

the  city,  and  wept  over  it/'  Luke  19  :  41. 
History  tells  us  that  Marcellus  wept  over  Syr- 
acuse, Scipio  over  Carthage,  and  Titus  over 
Jerusalem  some  forty  years  after  Jesus  entered 
it  in  the  triumph  decreed  to  him  in  prophecy. 
But  all  these  wept  over  those  whose  blood  they 
were  about  to  shed.  Jesus  wept  over  those 
who  were  about  to  shed  his  blood.  Cannot 
you  trust  your  soul  with  a  Saviour  whose  com- 
passions are  so  free,  so  large,  so  divine  ?  Be- 
hold him  on  the  cross,  lingering,  bleeding,  dy- 
ing for  the  sins  of  men,  and  say  if  you  are  jus- 
tified in  longer  resisting  his  claims  and  his 
charms.  John  says,  "We  love  him,  because 
he  first  loved  us."  1  John  4  :  19.  What  could 
be  more  proper?  Surely  such  love  as  his 
should  beget  love  in  us.  That  Jesus  who 
wept  over  Jerusalem  will  surely  have  com- 
passion on  souls  who  weep  for  their  sins,  and 
forsake  them,  and  flee  to  atoning  blood  for 
pardon,  and  to  Christ's  glorious  righteousness 
for  acceptance.  Oh  that  men  would  believe 
and  live.  Through  Christ  there  is  hope.  By 
him  all  our  sins  may  be  buried  in  the  depths  of 
the  sea.  By  him  the  darkness  flees  away. 
Through  his  mediation  we  are  brought  to  sing 
the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb. 


126  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Finally,  let  no  man  take  the  word  of  any 
uninspired  man  as  of  binding  force  in  any  mat- 
ter of  religion.  If  such  a  course  is  dangerous 
in  doctrinal  religion,  it  is  no  less  so  in  experi- 
mental and  practical  piety.  If  any  thing  that 
has  been  said  shall  guide  or  comfort  any  soul, 
to  God  be  all  the  praise  and  glory.  Meantime, 
"  Out  of  the  spoils  won  in  battles  have  I  dedi- 
cated these  things  to  maintain  the  house  of  the 
Lord."     1  Chron.  26  :  27. 


SPIRITUAL  DARKNESS.  127 

CHAPTER   YIII. 

SPIRITUAL  DARKNESS. 

In  practical  religion  there  is  no  greater 
mistake  than  the  persuasion  that  if  we  are 
pleased  with  ourselves,  God  is  also  pleased 
with  us.  Pride,  vain-glory,  and  self-compla- 
cency blind,  bewilder,  and  intoxicate.  In  no 
form  or  degree  do  they  make  us  meet  for  the 
inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light.  On  the  other 
hand,  shame  for  our  own  vileness,  sorrow  for 
our  shortcomings,  self-loathing  for  undeniable 
turpitude  of  soul  are  profitable.  Yea,  "it  is 
better  to  go  to  the  house  of  mourning  than  to 
the  house  of  feasting ;  for  by  the  sadness  of  the 
countenance  the  heart  is  made  better." 

In  this  life  God's  people  may  expect  much 
weeping  and  mourning.  Waters  of  a  full  cup 
are  wrung  out  to  them.  But  the  word  of  God 
puts  limits  to  the  griefs  of  the  godly:  "Weep- 
ing may  endure  for  a  night,  but  joy  cometh  in 
the  morning;"  "Blessed  are  they  that  mourn; 
for  they  shall  be  comforted;"  "Ye  now  have 
sorrow;  but  I  will  see  you  again,  and  your 
eart  shall  rejoice."     Psa.  30:5;  Matt.  5:4; 


128  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

John  16  :  22.  Thougli  tlie  righteous  shall  not 
weep  always,  yet  they  may  weep  bitterly. 
The  bare  shedding  of  tears  is  not  the  only 
kind  of  weeping,  nor  the  uttering  of  sighs  the 
only  mourning.  Many  who  shed  no  tears  and 
utter  no  sighs  or  groans,  feel  more  deeply  and 
painfully  than  those  who  hold  out  the  usual 
signals  of  distress.  There  are  states  of  mind 
far  beyond  the  power  of  tears  to  relieve,  far 
beyond  the  utterance  of  groans  to  alleviate. 
There  is  no  pain  of  mind  like  that  "dry  sor- 
row, which  drinketh  up  the  blood  and  spirits." 

Moreover,  tears  are  often  shed  and  sorrow 
often  felt  which  God  abhors.  Tears  of  anger, 
of  jealousy,  of  wounded  pride,  of  detected  wick- 
edness, are  all  abominable  to  God.  Jonah 
displeased  the  Lord  by  all  his  grief  about  his 
gourd.  Amaziah  was  grieved  for  the  hundred 
talents  of  silver,  but  God  took  no  account  of 
that. 

Each  one  can  determine  the  character  of 
his  sorrow,  if  he  will  but  observe  whether  it 
improves  his  heart  and  temper,  and  whether  it 
weans  him  from  the  world.  That  sorrow  of 
the  world  which  works  death  is  always  to  be 
repented  of. 

One  class  of  evils  bringing  sorrow  to  the 


SPIRITUAL  DAEKNESS.  129 

righteous  is  made  up  of  the  common  calamities 
of  life,  such  as  sickness,  poverty,  the  failure  of 
hope,  the  want  of  friends,  the  want  of  means, 
the  want  of  success,  the  death  of  friends,  and 
the  change  of  friends  into  enemies. 

Another  class  of  evils  over  which  good  men 
weep,  are  such  as  the  sins  of  the  times,  igno- 
rance, profaneness,  lewdness,  drunkenness,  cov- 
etousness,  lukewarmness,  heresies,  contentions, 
whisperings,  and  revilings.  When  God's  cause 
languishes,  the  righteous  must  be  sad.  When 
iniquity  abounds,  he  whose  love  waxes  not 
cold  must  be  grieved.  When  the  foot  of  pride 
is  on  the  neck  of  the  saints,  there  will  be  mourn- 
ing. David  cried,  "Let  the  wickedness  of  the 
wicked  come  to  an  end."  Psa.  7:9.  "Rivers 
of  waters  run  down  mine  eyes,  because  men 
keep  not  thy  law."  Psa.  119  :  136.  "Horror 
hath  taken  hold  upon  me,  because  of  the  wick- 
ed that  forsake  thy  law."  Psa.  119:53.  So 
strong  was  this  feeling  in  the  mind  of  Paul, 
that  he  said  to  the  Thessalonians,  "Now  we 
live,  if  ye  stand  fast  in  the  Lord."  1  Thess. 
3:8.  This  was  equivalent  to  saying,  If  all 
things  go  on  well  in  the  church,, I  shall  rise 
superior  to  all  other  trials ;  but  if  the  church 
wanders  into  error  and  folly,  my  heart  will 

6* 


130  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

die  within  me.  So  highly  does  God  prize 
such  dispositions,  that  when  he  was  about  ter- 
ribly to  punish  Israel  of  old,  he  sent  an  angel 
with  an  ink-horn  by  his  side  through  the  midst 
of  the  city,  to  set  a  mark  upon  the  foreheads 
of  the  men  that  did  sigh  and  cry  for  all  the 
abominations  that  were  done  in  Jerusalem. 
Ezek.  9  : 4. 

Other  evils  over  which  good  men  weep  are 
found  in  themselves,  such  as  error,  ignorance, 
prejudice,  pride,  self- righteousness,  worldli- 
ness,  levity,  uncharitable  tempers  and  dispo- 
sitions, censoriousness,  envy,  sinful  anger,  ha- 
tred, a  proneness  to  remember  wrongs,  to  in- 
dulge complaints,  and  to  forget  mercies.  There 
is  no  plague  like  the  plague  of  an  evil  heart. 
There  is  no  misery  like  the  wretchedness  of 
conscious  vileness.  There  are  no  sighs  so  long 
and  so  deep-drawn  as  those  caused  by  indwell- 
ing sin.  Job  said,  *'I  abhor  myself,  and  re- 
pent in  dust  and  ashes."  David  said,  "Mine 
iniquities  have  taken  hold  upon  me,  so  that  I 
am  not  able  to  look  up;  they  are  more  than 
the  hairs  of  my  head ;  therefore  my  heart  fail- 
eth  me."  Isaiah  said,  "Woe  is  me,  for  I  am 
undone ;  because  I  am  a  man  of  unclean  lips, 
and  I  dwell  in  the  midst  of  a  people  of  unclean 


SPIEITUAL  DAKKNESS.  131 

lips."  And  Paul  said,  ''  0  wretched  man  that 
I  am !  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of 
this  death  ?" 

Besides  these  things,  God's  people  are  sub- 
ject to  seasons  of  great  spiritual  darkness, 
which  cause  them  long  and  loud  and  bitter 
weeping.  These  times  of  darkness  and  de- 
pression are  more  or  less  lasting  and  afflicting, 
according  to  the  wisdom  of  Him  who  knows 
when,  how,  and  how  far  his  chosen  servants 
need  suffering. 

These  seasons  of  darkness  sometimes  come 
on  very  suddenly,  but  more  commonly  they 
are  gradual  in  their  approaches.  There  is  first 
the  little  cloud.  This  spreads  and  thickens, 
till  the  whole  heavens  become  black  and  angry. 
As  in  the  natural  world  the  elements  of  storm 
are  often  gathering  when  we  perceive  them 
not,  so  in  the  spiritual  world,  sins  are  often 
separating  between  us  and  Grod,  and  we  know 
not  our  sad  estate.  Many  think  all  is  well, 
until  to  their  surprise  their  day  is  turned  into 
night,  and  their  mirth  into  heaviness.  Then  to 
their  grief  they  find  their  enemies  upon  them, 
and  themselves  shorn  of  the  locks  of  their 
strength.  Any  sin  may  lead  the  mind  to  deep 
depression — may  shroud  it  in  terrible  darkness. 


132  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

This  darkness  consists  of  several  things. 
Commonly  it  is  attended  with  a  loss  of  com- 
fortable evidence  of  personal  piety.  Hope 
grows  dim.  Marks  of  piety  become  obscured. 
The  troubled  soul  feels  unable  to  claim  the 
promises.  It  has  some  perception  of  their 
sweetness  and  faithfulness,  but  says  they  are 
not  for  me.  Then  thoughts  about  the  mercy 
of  God  yield  no  comfort,  for  the  soul  says,  I 
have  abused  all  his  kindness.  I  have  rendered 
myself  abominable  by  my  base  ingratitude. 
Eeflections  on  past  seasons  of  joyful  experience 
but  render  the  present  trial  the  more  painful. 
They  show  what  has  been  lost.  Or  perhaps  all 
former  comforts  are  counted  delusions.  Once 
the  man  thought  he  never  could  question  God's 
love  to  him ;  but  now  he  is  ready  to  turn  away 
from  all  that  is  cheering,  and  look  only  on  the 
gloomy  side  of  his  religious  state. 

Eeading  the  Bible  rather  depresses  than 
refreshes  him ;  for  although  glorious  things  are 
there  spoken  of  God's  people,  yet  he  discredits 
liis  claims  to  discipleship.  Finding  that  in  some 
things  he  has  been  sadly  deficient  in  godly  sin- 
cerity, he  is  much  inclined  to  pronounce  him- 
self in  all  things  hypocritical.  The  view  he 
takes  of  his  sins  is,  that  they  are  so  fearfully 


SPIEITUAL  DAKKNESS.  133 

aggravated  that  they  cannot  be  forgiven,  even 
through  the  redemption  that  is  in  Christ.  He 
does  not  see  how  one  who  loves  God  can  be 
guilty  of  so  heinous  offences.  Tears  are  his 
meat  day  and  night.  As  with  a  sword  in  his 
bones,  his  enemies  reproach  him;  while  they 
say  daily  unto  him,  Where  is  thy  God  ?  Hope 
seems  ready  utterly  to  forsake  him,  and  terri- 
ble darkness  to  take  its  place.  His  soul  is 
cast  down  and  disquieted  within  him.  It  is 
with  feebleness  that  he  utters  the  self-exhorta- 
tion, "  0  my  soul, . . .  hope  thou  in  God  ;  for  I 
shall  yet  praise  him  for  the  help  of  his  coun- 
tenance." He  can  no  more  confidently  say, 
''The  Lord  will  command  his  loving-kindness 
in  the  daytime,  and  in  the  night  his  song  shall 
be  with  me."  He  is  dejected,  despondent,  dis- 
couraged. He  needs  a  guide,  a  friend,  a  coun- 
sellor, a  comforter. 

Many  fears  now  torment  him.  He  remem- 
bers God,  and  is  troubled.  Every  divine  per- 
fection is  contemplated  with  dread.  God's 
truth,  and  mercy,  and  power,  and  holiness, 
and  justice,  and  majesty  become  sources  of 
terror.  The  King  eternal,  immortal,  and  in- 
visible becomes  the  dreadful  God.  The  love 
of  Christ  itself  increases  apprehensions  lest  the 


134  VITAL  GODLINESSo 

sliohtins:  of  his  mercies  should  hasten  everlast- 
ing  damnation.  Fears  of  having  grieved  and 
vexed,  and  even  quenched  the  Holy  Spirit,  so 
that  he  is  turned  to  be  an  enemy,  have  now  a 
sad  prevalence.  The  threatenings  of  Scripture 
against  such  as  have  sinned  against  much  light 
and  many  warnings  spread  dismay  through 
his  soul.  Even  the  promises  and  invitations 
of  Scripture,  because  they  have  been  slighted, 
produce  alarm  rather  than  hope  and  peace. 

In  this  state  of  mind,  he  is  terrified  at  the 
thought  of  coming  to  the  Lord's  supper.  To 
him  it  is  indeed  "the  dreadful  table  of  the 
Lord.''  In  contemplating  it,  he  sees  far  more 
of  Sinai  than  of  Calvary.  Fierce  flames  shoot 
out  where  once  he  saw  but  the  bright  beams 
of  unparalleled  love  and  mercy,  truth  and 
faithfulness.  Even  the  gospel  becomes  to  him 
a  dispensation  of  terror,  a  ministration  of 
wrath. 

Singing  the  songs  of  Zion  is  to  such  a  one 
an  unusual  exercise.  It  brings  no  pleasure, 
unless  it  is  of  a  mournful  kind.  Plaintive 
hymns  and  tunes  best  suit  this  state  of  depres- 
sion. Sometimes  they  bring  the  relief  of  tears. 
And  this  is  often  considerable.  Though  we 
may  weep   without  having  our   hardness  of 


SPIEITUAL  DAEKNESS.  135 

heart  really  cured,  yet  to  one  thus  exercised 
it  is  a  luxury  to  be  able  to  have  any  evidence 
that  all  sense  and  feeling  are  not  clean  gone. 
And  yet  connected  prayer  is  hardly  under- 
taken, or  if  attempted,  is  found  impossible. 
Instead  of  regular  prayer  to  Grod,  the  heart 
ventures  only  to  express  wishes,  but  not  ac- 
companied by  much  hope  that  they  will  be 
gratified.  If  he  asks  any  thing  of  God,  he 
seems  to  himself  to  have  little  or  no  faith  either 
in  God's  ability  or  willingness  to  grant  his 
petitions. 

Satan  will  now  probably  roar  like  a  lion 
over  his  prey.  He  may  suggest  to  the  soul 
that  God  is  its  irreconcilable  enemy,  that 
Christ  will  surely  deny  it  at  last,  and  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  fighting  against  it.  He  says, 
''Your  prayers  are  sin,  your  efforts  are  vain, 
your  case  is  desperate,  Christ  has  been  rejected, 
the  day  of  grace  is  past,  salvation  is  impossi- 
ble, heaven  is  lost,  hell  must  be  your  portion." 
He  thrusts  a  thousand  fiery  darts  at  the  soul. 
He  labors  to  arouse  to  the  utmost  some  unsub- 
dued lust,  or  suggests  blasphemous  thoughts, 
tempting  the  soul  to  curse  God,  or  bid  defi- 
ance to  his  wrath.  Such  thoughts  are  shock- 
ing ;  but  the  more  they  are  resisted  merely  in 


136  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

human  strength,  the  more  powerful  they  may 
become. 

All  the  while  the  soul  is  like  the  troubled 
sea,  which  cannot  rest,  whose  waters  cast  up 
mire  and  dirt.  His  bones  wax  old  through 
his  roaring.  He  is  consumed  by  the  terrors 
of  the  Almighty.  He  finds  no  access  to  the 
mercy-seat,  no  cordial  to  revive  his  drooping 
spirit.  Sometimes  apprehensions  of  certain 
and  speedy  wrath  become  firm  and  fixed.  At 
times  it  seems  as  if  the  pains  of  hell  have  al- 
ready got  hold  upon  him.  The  arrows  of  the 
Almighty  stick  fast  in  him.  Something  so 
much  like  despair  that  you  can  hardly  tell  the 
difference  possesses  him,  and  he  will  hardly 
allow  that  he  is  making  any  effort  to  flee  from 
the  wrath  to  come.  He  thinks,  and  perhaps 
speaks  familiarly,  of  reprobation  and  hell. 
Sometimes  the  adversary  pours  in  his  horrid 
temptations  in  an  almost  perpetual  stream. 
He  suggests  the  great  crime  of  self-murder, 
and  assigns  as  a  reason,  that  longer  continu- 
ance will  but  aggravate  a  condemnation  al- 
ready felt  to  be  exceedingly  terrible. 

Sometimes  one  whose  heart  is  thus  smit- 
ten and  withered  like  grass  hears  the  gospel 
preached  publicly  or  privately,  and  for  a  sea- 


SPIEITUAL  DABKNESS.  137 

son  seems  relieved,  at  least  partially ;  but  often 
this  deliverance  is  only  temporary,  and  the 
mind  is  apt  to  sink  down  again  into  gloom  and 
wretchedness.  To  such  a  soul  nothing  is  charm- 
ing. Nature,  in  her  gayest  hues  and  dress, 
seems  covered  with  a  pall  of  sadness.  The- 
blue  heavens  wither.  The  green  mountains 
look  hoary.  Even  the  flowers  look  drab. 
Well  might  he  now  sing, 

*' Sweet  prospects,  sweet  birds,  and  sweet  flowers, 
Have  lost  all  their  sweetness  with  me ; 
The  midsummer  sun  shines  but  dim, 
The  fields  strive  in  vain  to  look  gay." 

Sleep  departs,  or  is  broken  by  frightful  dreams. 
He  forgets  to  eat  his  bread.     Psa.  102  :  3, 

Probably  in  the  midst  of  all  this  suffering, 
when  he  most  needs  the  sympathies  of  God's 
people,  they  will  seem  cold  and  distant;  or 
perhaps  they  will  judge  him  harshly,  and  re- 
gard his  present  distress  as  the  fruit  of  some 
special  sin.  Perhaps  trumpet-tongued  slander 
will  open  wide  her  mouth,  and  proclaim  false- 
hoods concerning  him.  Or  perhaps  sickness, 
or  death,  or  pecuniary  distress  will  invade  his 
habitation;  and  thus  he  has  sorrow  upon  sor- 
row. If  God's  word  gives  any  relief  in  this 
state  of  mind,  it  is  only  those  parts  of  it  which 


138  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

describe  his  present  state  or  express  Ms  pres- 
ent feelings.  The  complaints  of  Job  or  the 
mourning  prayers  of  David  show  him  that  oth- 
ers before  him  have  been  in  deep  water,  and 
so  he  sees  that  possibly  he  may  yet  escape ; 
but  ''a  horror  of  great  darkness  has  fallen 
upon"  him.  ''The  spirit  of  a  man  sustaineth 
his  infirmity;  but  a  wounded  spirit  who  can 
bear?"  His  soul  sinks,  and  it  seems  as  if  all 
was  lost.  He  may  have  days  or  weeks  or 
months  of  apparently  tideless,  waveless,  shore- 
less, fathomless  woe. 

But  when  God's  purposes  are  accomplished, 
then  comes  relief.  This  may  approach  sud- 
denly, but  more  commonly  it  comes  gradually. 
Sometimes  sudden  and  transient  joy  is  given  to 
prevent  despair,  before  a  settled  calmness  and 
quiet  of  soul  is  obtained.  Generally  the  first 
step  towards  a  return  of  joy  is  an  increase  of 
hope.  Paul  directs  that  we  should  take  for  a 
helmet  the  hope  of  salvation.  We  are  saved 
by  hope.  Hope  excites  to  action ;  and  to  the 
no  little  comfort  of  this  distressed  soul,  he  finds 
that  with  God's  help  he  can  do  something. 

He  can  resist  the  devil,  and  cause  him  to 
flee.  The  sword  of  the  Spirit  is  God's  word, 
and  Satan  finds  its   edge  too   keen  for  him. 


SPIRITUAL  DARKNESS.  139 

When  this  man  finds  he  can  stop  the  mouth  of 
the  old  lion,  or  discovers  that  he  is  a  chained 
enemy,  and  that  there  is  One  stronger  and 
mightier  than  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the 
air,  he  is  very  glad,  and  lays  about  him  lustily.  ^ 

This  encourages  hope,  and  faith  begins 
again  to  lay  hold  of  the  promises.  Confidence 
in  God — in  his  power,  wisdom,  truth,  and  mer- 
cy— reassures  the  soul.  The  tongue  of  the 
dumb  is  loosed.  The  silent  man  begins  to 
pray.  The  mourning  soul  begins  to  sing  of 
mercies.  Portions  of  Scripture  begin  to  be 
brought  home  to  the  heart  with  heavenly 
sweetness.  His  views  of  the  Saviour  become 
refreshing  and  ravishing.  He  sees  God  in 
Christ,  reconciling  the  world  to  himself.  He 
glories  in  the  cross  of  Christ.  He  esteems  all 
things  but  loss,  for  the  excellency  of  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ  Jesus  his  Lord.  The  Holy 
Ghost  dwells  in  him,  takes  of  the  things  of 
Christ,  and  shows  them  unto  him.  The  Sanc- 
tifier  becomes  the  Comforter.  He  now  takes 
root  downward,  a  sure  pledge  that  he  will  yet 
bear  fruit  upward. 

No  precept  of  God's  word  is  too  strict  for 
him.  No  promise  is  without  its  sweetness. 
No  hours  are  so  pleasant  as  those  spent  in  de- 


140  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

votion.  He  can  now  say  in  truth,  "I  had 
rather  be  a  door-keeper — perform  the  hum- 
blest service — in  the  house  of  my  God  than  to 
dwell  in  the  tents  of  wickedness."  His  preju- 
dices against  men  subside,  his  enmities  are  all 
buried,  his  heart-burnings  give  place  to  a  spirit 
of  love  which  embraces  all  mankind.  He  has 
a  special  delight  in  all  God's  people.  He  now 
knows  that  he  has  passed  from  death  unto  life, 
because  he  loves  the  brethren.  His  heart  is 
full  of  gratitude.  His  mouth  is  full  of  praise. 
His  thoughts  burn  within  him.  They  are  of 
salvation.  Gladly  does  he  offer  all  to  Him  who 
has  brought  him  up  out  of  the  horrible  pit  and 
the  miry  clay,  and  set  his  feet  upon  a  rock. 

Now  his  meditation  of  God  is  sweet.  And 
although  sin  is  still  at  work,  it  no  longer  pre- 
vails against  him.  He  looks  forward  with 
confident  expectation  to  the  period  not  distant, 
when  he  shall  be  done  with  temptation  for  ever, 
behold  Christ  in  the  fulness  of  his  glory  at 
God's  right  hand,  and  take  up  his  abode  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  of  life.  He  now  takes 
just  and  profitable  views  of  the  nearness  of 
eternity,  of  the  shortness  of  time,  of  the  worth- 
lessness  of  things  that  perish,  and  of  the  price- 
less value  of  heavenly  things. 


SPIEITUAL  DAEKNESS.  141 

And  now  the  bent  of  the  soul  is  towards 
God.  The  believer  discovers  the  end  of  the 
Lord  in  his  late  trials.  He  sees  how  they  were 
designed  to  prepare  him  for  more  abundant 
supplies  of  grace,  strength,  and  enjoyment. 
He  is  therefore  ready  to  say,  "It  is  good  for 
me  that  I  have  been  afflicted.''  He  is  now 
like  a  child  weaned  of  his  mother.  He  is 
filled  with  the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteous- 
ness. 

Such  a  view  of  one's  experience  is  instruct- 
ive. It  teaches  many  lessons.  It  specially 
warns  us  to  beware  of  the  beginnings  of  sin. 
Neglect  of  duty,  levity  of  mind,  low  views  of 
God,  a  fretful  temper,  deceit,  a  want  of  the 
spirit  of  forgiveness,  or  any  other  sin,  may 
plunge  us  into  darkness.  Fear  of  man  is  a 
great  foe  to  grace.  ''He  has  begun  to  be  a 
bad  man,  who  fears  to  be  a  good  man."  We 
cannot  be  too  vigilant  over  our  own  hearts. 
We  cannot  too  tenderly  love  our  Master  and 
his  people.  We  cannot  be  too  zealous  in  the 
Lord's  cause.  ''Sin's  joys  are  but  night 
dreams." 

If  at  any  time  we  should  be  overtaken  with 
darkness,  let  us  make  diligent  search  for  the 
cause.     If  moral,  it  will  be  found  in  that  sin 


142  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

which  we  find  ourselves  averse  to  thinking  of, 
or  disinclined  to  hear  faithfully  reproved.  • 

In  times  of  darkness  we  should  be  very 
diligent  in  reading  the  Scriptures.  Possibly 
we  may  have  slighted  some  portion  of  God's 
word,  while  it  contains  the  very  truths  whose 
cleansing,  comforting  power  is  most  needed  in 
our  case.  Especially  labor  to  know  the  full 
import  of  those  portions  of  Scripture  which 
treat  of  experimental  religion.  The  heavens 
themselves  shall  pass  away,  but  God's  word  is 
for  ever  stable. 

"The  seas  shall  -^aste,  the  skies  in  smoke  decay, 
Kocks  fall  to  dust,  and  mountains  melt  away ; 
But  fixed  Ms  word,  his  saving  power  remains, 
Thy  reahn  for  ever  lasts ;  thy  own  Messiah  reigns." 

In  darkness  and  perplexity  consult,  if  you 
can,  an  exioerienced  minister  or  Christian.  Do 
not  count  them  enemies  if  they  probe  your 
wounds  and  deal  faithfully  with  you.  Those 
who  do  but  prophesy  smooth  things,  will  be 
found  unprofitable  in  the  end.  The  advice  of 
weak,  ignorant,  or  partial  persons  is  apt  to  be 
injurious.  Consult  not  those  who  are  not  fit 
to  be  advisers.  r 

Labor  to  obtain  clear  views  of  the  freeness 
and  sufficiency  of  the  salvation  thdt  is  in  Christ 
Jesus.      Remember  how  in  millions  of  cases 


SPIEITUAL  DAKKNESS.  143 

where  sin  abounded,  grace  liatli  much  more 
abounded.  "Nothing  can  satisfy  an  offended 
conscience  but  that  which  satisfies  an  offended 
God,"  said  Henry.  Whereupon  Adam  said, 
"And  well  may  that  which  satisfied  an  offend- 
ed God  pacify  an  offended  conscience."  Well 
did  Cromwell  in  a  letter  to  a  friend  say,  "  Sa- 
lute your  dear  wife  from  me.  Bid  her  beware 
of  a  bondage  spirit.  Fear  is  the  natural  issue 
of  such  a  spirit;  the  antidote  is  love.  The 
voice  of  fear  is,  'If  I  had  done  this,  if  I  had 
done  that,  how  well  it  had  been  with  me.' 
Love  argueth  in  this  wise;  'What  a  Christ 
have  I ;  what  a  Father  in  and  through  him  j 
what  a  name  hath  my  Father,  '  merciful,  gra- 
cious, long-suffering,  abundant  in  goodness  and 
truth;  forgiving  iniquity,  transgression,  and 
sin.'  What  a  nature  hath  my  Father.  He  is 
love ;  free  in  it,  unchangeable,  infinite.  What 
a  covenant  between  him  and  Christ,  for  all  the 
seed,  for  every  one ;  wherein  he  undertakes 
all,  and  the  poor  soul  nothing.'  The  new  cov- 
enant is  grace,  to  or  upon  the  soul  to  which  it 
is  receptive."  Your  salvation  depends  not  on 
your  comfortable  or  uncomfortable  frames,  but 
on  the  grace  and  power  of  God.  Remember 
the  word,  the  oath,  the  covenant  of  God.    Fight 


144  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

against  despair.  It  is  a  great  sin  as  well  as  a 
great  misery. 

Be  conscientious  in  the  performance  of  ev- 
ery duty.  "  He  that  loses  his  conscience,  has 
nothing  left  worth  keeping."  It  would  be  no 
token  for  good  to  have  your  affliction  pass 
away  while  you  are  indulging  in  either  sins  of 
omission  or  of  commission.  "If  you  would 
not  have  affliction  visit  you  twice,  listen  at 
once  to  what  it  teaches."  God  will  never  de- 
sert one  who  keeps  a  conscience  void  of  offence. 
He  may  be  weak  as  water,  but  Grod  will  gird 
him  with  strength.  Leigh  ton  says,  "When 
we  consider  how  we  are  in  ourselves,  yea,  the 
very  strongest  of  us,  and  how  assaulted,  we 
may  justly  wonder  that  we  can  continue  one 
day  in  a  state  of  grace ;  but  when  we  look  on 
the  strength  by  which  we  are  guarded,  the 
power  of  God,  then  we  see  the  reason  of  our 
stability  to  the  end ;  for  Omnipotency  supports 
us,  and  the  everlasting  arms  are  under  us."  A 
good  old  English  bishop  had  for  his  motto, 
"Serve  God,  and  be  cheerful." 

Beware  of  unnecessary  expressions  of  your 
feelings  in  the  presence  of  wicked  men,  lest 
they  stumble  at  your  temptations;  or  in  the 
presence  of  weak  brethren,   lest  you  offend 


SPIEITUAL  DABKNESS.  145 

against  the  generation  of  God's  children.  Some 
men  do  not  know  that  ' '  a  diamond  with  some 
flaws  is  still  more  precious  than  a  pebble  that 
has  none."  David  kept  his  mouth  with  a  bri- 
dle while  the  wicked  was  before  him.  He  held 
his  peace  even  from  good.  Do  not  wound 
Christ  in  the  house  of  his  friends  by  any  ex- 
posure of  your  trials  which  will  not  be  under- 
stood by  others.  Rather  bear  your  sorrows  in 
secret. 

In  your  darkness  call  to  mind  the  years  of 
the  right  hand  of  the  Most  High,  when  the 
candle  of  the  Lord  shone  upon  you.  Former 
joyful  experiences  of  our  Father's  love  are  not 
so  to  be  relied  on  as  to  make  us  careless  about 
our  present  state.  Neither  are  they  to  be  for- 
gotten. In  meeting  Goliath,  David  encour- 
aged himself  by  calling  to  mind  God's  good- 
ness on  former  occasions  of  great  peril :  "The 
Lord  that  delivered  me  out  of  the  paw  of  the 
lion,  and  out  of  the  paw  of  the  bear,  he  will 
deliver  me  out  of  the  hand  of  this  Philistine." 
1  Sam.  17:37. 

When  your  darkness  begins  to  be  removed, 
do  not  rest  satisfied  with  small  attainments. 
Some  good  men  think  that  one  of  the  errors  of 
our  day  is  preaching  a  low  experience.    How- 

VtVil  Godliness.  7 


146  .     VITAL  GODLINESS. 

ever  this  may  be,  let  us  beware  of  resting  in 
few  and  small  victories.  "Open  thy  mouth 
wide,  and  I  will  fill  it,"  says  God. 

One  of  the  best  ways  to  dispel  fears  for  our 
personal  safety  is  to  labor  for  the  salvation  of 
others.  Professed  Christians  often  get  into  a 
morbid  state  of  mind  about  their  religious  pros- 
pects. They  are  afraid  they  shall  not  be  saved. 
Perhaps  they  will  not  be.  If  that  is  their  chief 
anxiety,  they  can  hardly  expect  comfort.  It  is 
selfish  always  to  be  thinking  of  their  own  fu- 
ture happiness,  and  in  their  terrible  fears  they 
are  paying  the  just  penalty  of  their  low  aims. 
But  let  them  go  out  of  themselves,  and  try  to 
secure  the  salvation  of  others,  and  their  fears 
are  gone.  Then  they  are  doing  God's  work, 
and  they  have  no  doubt  of  his  love. 

Restored  to  spiritual  comfort,  beware  of 
sin  in  every  shape.  Especially  beware  of  spir- 
itual pride  and  carnal  security.  In  recounting 
God's  dealings  with  you,  praise  not  yourself, 
but  glorify  God.  Extol  his  free,  sovereign 
grace. 

Let  all  God's  people  remember  that  soon 
all  their  sorrows  will  be  gone,  and  the  days  of 
their  mourning  ended. 

How  different  the  character,  experience, 


SPIEITUAL  DAEKNESS.  147 

and  destiny  of  the  rigliteous  from  those  of  the 
wicked.  Here  the  righteous  mourn ;  but  they 
shall  he  comforted.  Here  the  wicked  have  their 
good  things ;  but  they  sliaU  he  tormented.  At 
death  the  sorrows  of  the  righteous  end  for  ever, 
and  eternal  joy  begins.  At  death  the  joys  of 
the  wicked  terminate,  and  eternal  sorrow  be- 
gins. The  righteous  cry  to  God  daily  even  in 
prosperity.  The  wicked  commonly  do  not 
begin  to  pray  till  God  has  ceased  to  hear. 


148  VITAL  GODLINESS. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

BACKSLIDING. 

''A  PERSON  who  suspected  that  a  minister 
of  his  acquaintance  was  not  truly  orthodox, 
went  to  him  and  said,  'Sir,  I  am  told  that 
you  are  against  the  perseverance  of  the  saints.' 
'Not  I,  indeed,'  answered  he  ;  'it  is  the  perse- 
verance of  sinners  that  I  oppose.'  The  other 
replied,  '  But  that  is  not  a  satisfactory  answer, 
sir.  Do  you  think  that  a  child  of  God  cannot 
fall  very  low,  and  yet  be  restored  ?'  The  min- 
ister answered,  'I  think  it  will  be  very  dan- 
gerous to  make  the  experiment.'"  Whether 
the  minister  was  orthodox  or  not,  it  is  certain 
that  his  sentiments,  so  far  as  expressed,  were 
quite  consistent  with  the  Bible.  He  who  is 
determined  to  see  how  far  he  may  decline  in 
religion  and  yet  be  restored,  will  lose  his  soul. 
"The  soul  that  doeth  aught  presumptuously 
shall  surely  be  cut  off."  He  that  regards  sin 
with  so  little  abhorrence  as  willingly  to  commit 
it,  cannot  be  walking  in  the  way  of  life.  He 
who  allowedly  and  habitually  departs  from 


BACKSLIDING.  149 

God,  proves  that  sin  reigns  in  his  mortal  body, 
and  that  he  is  the  slave  of  corruption. 

The  declensions  of  good  and  bad  men  are 
unlike  in  several  particulars.  When  the  wick- 
ed depart  from  God,  they  cry,  ''Peace  and 
safety.^'  When  the  righteous  no  longer  main- 
tain a  close  walk  with  God,  they  say,  Oh  that 
it  were  with  us  as  in  months  past.  In  their 
wanderings,  the  wicked  call  themselves  happy. 
Having  forsaken  God,  the  righteous  lose  en- 
joyment, and  are  filled  with  sadness.  The 
wicked  backslide  perpetually.  Jer.  8:5.  The 
righteous  err  from  God's  ways  but  for  a  time. 
The  wicked  are  bent  to  backsliding.  Hosea 
11:7.  The  righteous  are  betrayed  into  sin. 
The  wicked  are  as  the  sow  wallowing  in  the 
mire.  It  is  their  nature  to  work  iniquity.  The 
righteous  are  as  the  cleanly  sheep.  If  they 
are  in  the  slough,  it  is  their  calamity.  "Who- 
soever is  born  of  God  doth  not  commit  sin ; 
for  his  seed  remaineth  in  him ;  and  he  cannot 
sin,  because  he  is  born  of  God."  The  wicked 
fill  up  their  sin  always.  They  sleep  not  ex- 
cept they  have  done  some  mischief.  They  dig 
into  hell.  The  righteous  is  not  so.  Even  when 
he  sleepeth,  his  heart  waketh.  When  he  fall- 
eth,  he  shall  rise  again.     When  he  sitteth  in 


150  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

darkness,  the  Lord  shall  be  a  light  unto  him. 
A  just  man  falleth  seven  times,  and  riseth  up 
again.     All  his  backslidings  are  healed. 

The  danger  of  declension  is  very  great. 
Many  think  not  so.  Their  words  and  lives 
prove  that  they  think  it  a  small  matter  to  offend 
Grod  and  grieve  his  Spirit.  They  are  cold  and 
heartless  in  his  service.  Their  fear  of  offend- 
ing Grod  is  a  weak  principle.  It  controls  them 
not.  It  has  not  the  force  of  law.  We  are  al- 
ways in  danger  when  we  have  slight  thoughts 
of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  have  not  our  loins  girt 
about.  To  depart  from  God  is  to  seek  dark- 
ness. 

Let  us  then  inquire  who  are  backsliders. 
This  is  a  point  of  high  importance.  Like 
all  matters  of  practical  religion,  it  demands 
candor,  seriousness,  and  discrimination.  He 
who  wishes  to  deceive  himself  can  commonly 
do  so. 

It  is  no  conclusive  evidence  that  one  is  not 
a  backslider,  that  he  is  not  himself  convinced  of 
the  fact.  A  truly  pious  man  in  a  state  of  de- 
clension usually  has  some  fears  respecting  him- 
self; but  many  grievously  depart  from  God 
without  being  fully  convinced  of  their  error. 
It  is  a  sad  truth,  that  all  sin  blinds  the  mind 


BACKSLIDING.  151 

and  hardens  the  heart.  It  is  very  difi&cult  to 
convince  any  man  of  his  guilt.  We  have  an 
account  of  a  primitive  church  that  was  in  a  sad 
declension,  neither  cold  nor  hot,  and  ready  to 
be  spewed  out;  and  yet,  far  from  having  any 
just  sense  of  her  state,  she  said,  "I  am  rich, 
and  increased  with  goods,  and  have  need  of 
nothing  f  and  knew  not  that  she  was  wretched, 
and  miserable,  and  poor,  and  blind,  and  naked. 
Rev.  3:16,  17. 

Many  are  kept  from  owning  their  back- 
slidings,  because  they  are  mercifully  restrained 
from  open  sins.  Had  they  publicly  fallen 
into  overt  iniquity,  they  would  blush,  and  be 
ashamed ;  they  would  bewail  their  wickedness 
before  Grod  and  men.  But  as  yet  all  is  secret. 
They  are  merely  backsliders  in  heart.  No 
man  knows  of  their  spiritual  wickedness.  No 
man  can  accuse  them  of  living  in  coldness  or 
in  iniquity.  Hence  they  conclude  that  all  is 
well.  But  they  are  mistaken.  It  may  all 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  men  in  a  short  time. 
It  was  so  with  David.  To  him  God  said, 
''Thou  didst  it  secretly;  but  I  will  do  this 
thing  before  all  Israel,  and  before  the  sun.'^ 
2  Sam.  12  :  12. 

It  should  also  be  stated  that  it  is  easy  to 


152  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

backslide  from  God.  We  go  astray  from  the 
womb,  speaking  lies.  It  is  as  natural  for  ns 
to  do  wrong  as  for  the  sparks  to  ascend.  In 
our  voyage  heavenward,  wind  and  tide  are 
both  against  us.  If  we  do  nothing  to  over- 
come their  action,  they  will  carry  us  away. 
We  can  go  to  hell  without  intending  to  do  so, 
without  putting  forth  any  efforts  to  that  effect. 
But  to  go  to  heaven  requires  prayer,  self- 
denial,  vigilance,  violence,  running,  wrestling, 
fighting. 

All  serious  declension  in  religion  begins  in 
negligence  of  closet  duties.  These  are,  medi- 
tation, self-examination,  reading  the  Scrip- 
tures, praise,  and  prayer.  A  close  walk  with 
Grod  insures  regularity  and  alacrity  in  per- 
forming these  duties.  But  an  indisposition  for 
them  is  one  of  the  first  signs  that  spiritual 
health  is  failing.  This  symptom  should  pro- 
duce alarm.  Sometimes  it  does  ;  and  then  the 
enemy  gains  no  permanent  advantage.  But 
often  the  soul  is  made  quite  at  ease,  is  thrown 
quite  off  its  guard,  and  allows  the  public  du- 
ties of  religion  to  supersede  the  secret.  A 
true  Christian  can  hardly  live  without  any 
secret  prayer ;  but  he  may  be  in  such  a  state 
as  sadly  to  slight  the  means  of  personal  com- 


BACKSLIDING.  153 

munion  with  God.  Trains  of  pious  meditation 
may  be  few.  The  Scriptures  may  cease  to  be 
to  the  soul  the  lively  oracles,  honey  and  the 
honey-comb.  Self-examination  may  prove  a 
hard  task,  and  a  revealer  of  unlooked-for  wick- 
edness. Praise  and  thanksgiving  may  become 
strange  things,  and  He  who  gave  songs  in  the 
night  may  leave  the  soul  to  sighings  and  toss- 
ings.  Then  prayer  will  be  regarded  rather  as 
an  exaction  to  be  granted  than  as  a  privilege 
to  be  enjoyed.  When  piety  flourished  in  the 
soul,  it  was  not  enough  to  perform  closet  duties 
statedly  and  formally.  Without  having  set  a 
particular  time  for  them,  the  soul  would  occa- 
sionally pursue  its  pious  reflections,  its  self- 
examinations,  its  earnest  inquiries,  its  grateful 
trains  of  thought.  It  would  sing  some  notes 
of  praise.  It  would  cry  out  after  Grod,  even 
when  removed  from  the  usual  place  and  cir- 
cumstances of  devotion.  Yes,  in  the  midst  of 
worldly  business,  devout  aspirations  would  as- 
cend to  the  Father  of  mercies  ;  the  events  of 
providence  successively  occurring  would  be- 
piously  contemplated;  the  tear  of  penitence 
would  often  trickle  down,  and  hope  would 
rouse  the  soul  to  great  animation. 

But  when  such  a  one  backslides,  religion 
7* 


154  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

is  gradually  excluded  from  a  place  in  the  com- 
mon affairs  of  life.  Its  duties  are  shoved  into 
a  corner  or  removed  from  hourly  attention. 
Then  one  will  go  from  his  closet,  quieting  his 
conscience  with  the  reflection  that  he  has  spent 
some  time  in  the  set  observance  of  secret 
duties,  and  now  he  feels  more  free  to  welcome 
the  affairs  of  the  world.  He  follows  the  Lord, 
but  not  fully  nor  heartily.  Here  the  sad  work 
of  declension  begins.  Sin  advances  apace. 
Thraldom  and  bewilderment  commence.  The 
soul  is  already  in  a  net.  Blessed  is  he  who 
now  takes  the  alarm,  returns  to  duty  and  to 
the  Saviour,  and  is  restored  to  peace,  a  good 
conscience,  and  the  light  of  Grod's  countenance. 
Sometimes  this  is. done.  In  every  case  it  should 
be  attempted.  But  often  sin  gains  strength. 
The  backslider  proceeds  to  greater  lengths. 

The  next  step  is  the  neglect  of  family  and 
social  religion.  This  may  not  soon  be  taken; 
but  it  is  well-nigh  impossible  to  be  cold  and 
formal  in  the  closet,  and  lively  and  punctual 
in  the  social  duties  of  devotion.  Hypocrisy 
may  go  very  far,  but  rarely  as  far  as  this. 
Men  are  affected  by  temptations  to  slight  or 
omit  family  worship  or  social  prayer,  accord- 
ing to  the  state  of  their  hearts.    To  the  lively, 


BACKSLIDING.  155 

growing  Christian  the  adversary  comes,  but 
has  nothing  in  him.  His  allurements  take  not 
effect.  But  to  the  neglecter  of  his  spiritual 
duties,  the  enemy  approaches  boldly.  He 
finds  his  reasonings  vainly  resisted,  and  finally 
yielded  to.  The  stones  of  the  domestic  altar 
begin  to  be  loose  and  ready  to  tumble  down, 
and  the  little  praying  circle  is  quite  forsaken. 
How  sad  a  state  is  this.  How  blind  the  mind 
becomes  under  the  power  of  sin.  None  but 
Grod  can  effectually  check  this  painful  declen- 
sion. 

In  this  state,  ere  long  one  feels  uneasy  and 
guilty.  Therefore,  to  quiet  conscience  and 
keep  up  appearances  with  himself,  he  may  for 
a  long  time  be  unusually  strict  and  punctual  in 
some  of  the  public  duties  of  religion.  So  his 
seat  will  seldom  be  vacant  in  the  more  public 
worship  of  God.  For  like  reason  he  will  be- 
come quite  zealous  about  some  of  the  externals 
of  religion.  Or  he  may  insist  much  on  the 
system  of  doctrine  which  he  has  embraced, 
having  learned  the  art  of  holding  the  truth  in 
unrighteousness.  Or  he  may  talk  of  experi- 
mental religion,  deceiving  himself  with  the  be- 
lief that  if  he  talks  on  the  subject  it  is  a  sign 
of  some  right  feeling.     He  is  now  sadly  blind 


156  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

to  his  own  wretchedness.  If  he  has  gone  thus 
far,  it  will  probably  not  be  long  till  he  will  be 
detained  from  the  house  of  God  by  causes  that 
once  could  have  had  no  hindering  effect.  His 
zeal  even  for  forms  and  externals  will  probably 
soon  betray  weakness,  or  fierceness,  or  a  spirit 
of  contention.  His  love  for  truth  will  be  sub- 
stituted by  a  desire  for  controversy.  Prac- 
tical and  experimental  religion  will  engage  but 
few  of  his  words  or  thoughts.  His  heart  has 
gone  after  other  things.  Sometimes  indeed 
one  acquires  the  evil  habit  of  speaking  fluently 
of  things  not  felt  nor  loved.  In  this  case  re- 
covery is  less  and  less  to  be  expected.  All 
insincerity  is  unfriendly  to  our  recovering  our- 
selves out  of  the  snare  of  the  devil. 

Such  a  soul  will  find  duties  and  ordinances 
unprofitable.  He  will  go  away  from  prayer, 
from  reading,  from  preaching,  and  even  from 
the  Lord's  table,  and  be  no  more  holy,  no  more 
humble,  no  more  watchful,  no  more  spiritually 
minded,  no  more  able  to  resist  temptation  than 
before.  Sometimes  he  hopes  that  he  is  receiv- 
ing profit ;  but  his  conduct  soon  shows  that  he 
is  mistaken.  His  expectation  deceives  him. 
"He  looks  for  judgment,  but  there  is  none; 
for  salvation,  but  it  is  far  off  from  him.'^     Isa. 


BACKSLIDING.  157 

59  :11.  He  says,  '^What  profit  is  it  that  I 
have  kept  his  ordinance,  and  that  I  have 
walked  mournfully  before  the  Lord?"  Mai. 
3:14.  It  is  with  him  even  ''as  when  a  hungry 
man  dreameth,  and  behold,  he  eateth;  but  he 
awaketh,  and  his  soul  is  empty  :  or  as  when  a 
thirsty  man  dreameth,  and  behold,  he  drink- 
eth;  but  he  awaketh,  and  behold,  he  is  faint, 
and  his  soul  hath  aiopetite."  Isa.  29:8.  Some- 
times the  ordinances  are  like  the  fruit  which 
Milton's  serpents  ate.  To  the  eye  it  was  beau- 
tiful and  inviting,  but  in  the  mouth  it  turned 
to  ashes,  was  bitter,  and  increased  thirst.  Or 
they  are  like  the  book  the  prophet  ate,  sweet 
in  the  mouth,  but  bitter  afterwards.  So  sin 
often  imbitters  the  most  precious  privileges. 
Backsliders  are  made  miserable  by  an  ap- 
proach to  God.  They  are  not  prepared  for  it. 
As  piety  thus  dies  in  the  soul,  charity 
diminishes,  and  censoriousness  takes  its  place, 
A  backslider  will  be  more  than  formerly  dis- 
posed to  doubt  the  good  motives,  the  upright 
intentions,  and  sincere  professions  of  others. 
He  will  not  be  slow  in  entertaining  severe 
judgments  of  others.  Sometimes  he  will  ex- 
press harsh  opinions  of  his  fellow-men.  At- 
taching great  value  to  any  little  shreds  of  piety 


158  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

still  about  himself,  he  expresses  surprise  that 
others  have  not  his  seeming  virtues.  He  won- 
ders how  a  Christian  can  act  so  and  so,  while 
he  himself  is  doing  worse.  His  heart  does  not 
lead  him  instantly  and  spontaneously  to  cast  a 
cloak  over  the  faults  of  others.  This  spirit 
marks  also  his  treatment  of  sinners.  Reproach 
rather  than  persuasion,  contempt  rather  than 
affection,  mark  his  conduct  towards  them  that 
are  without.  It  cannot  now  be  said  of  him 
that  he  "thinketh  no  evil,"  and  "is  kind." 
He  shows  much  of  the  temper  of  those  who 
make  a  man  an  offender  for  a  word. 

Soon  you  may  find  him  vain  and  trifling  in 
his  plans  and  conversation.  He  prefers  vain 
company.  He  selects  unprofitable  reading. 
He  seeks  amusement,  not  profit.  Things  must 
be  found  to  suit  his  taste.  When  lively  in  re- 
ligion, his  conversation  was  seasoned  with  salt ; 
but  now  any  thing  rather  than  religion  is  con- 
genial to  his  feelings.  On  that  topic  he  is 
cold.  On  temporal  things  he  speaks  with  zest 
and  animation.  He  may  not  wholly  forsake 
the  society  of  spiritual  Christians,  but  he  will 
not  always  shun  the  fool  and  the  scorner.  Mere 
works  of  taste  or  fancy  will  very  much  super- 
sede the  sound  and  solid  treatises  on  religion, 


BACKSLIDING.  159 

which  once  feasted  his  soul.  The  Bible  does 
not  refresh  his  spirit  as  once  it  did.  His  pious 
friends  are  often  alarmed  at  his  state,  and  weep 
over  it  in  secret ;  yet  he  often  thinks  this  is  the 
usual  way  to  glory. 

In  this  state  he  will  often  exhibit  a  painful 
degree  of  indijQTerence  to  the  honor  of  Christ. 
An  apostasy  which  once  would  have  cost  him 
bitter  tears,  hardly  awakens  a  transient  pang. 
He  may  not  grossly  profane  the  name,  the 
word,  or  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord,  but  he  is 
far  less  than  formerly  grieved  at  such  sins  in 
others.  When  he  sees  people  sunk  in  sin,  his 
spirit  is  not  stirred  within  him.  He  is  not 
grieved  for  the  affliction  of  Joseph.  He  does 
not  weep  between  the  porch  and  the  altar  as 
he  once  did,  crying.  Spare  thy  people,  0 
Lord. 

Nor  does  he  rejoice  as  formerly  in  hearing 
of  the  spread  of  truth,  the  conversion  of  sinners, 
the  progress  of  the  gospel.  Once  his  soul  was 
inflamed  with  love  and  leaped  for  joy  when  he 
heard  of  the  revival  of  religion.  President 
Edwards  the  elder  says,  that  when  he  first  ob- 
tained settled  peace  of  conscience,  he  felt  irre- 
pressible desires  for  the  salvation  of  the  world, 
and  had  peculiar  delight  in  hearing  of  the  prog- 


160  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

ress  of  religion  in  any  part  of  the  earth.  This 
is  common  Christian  experience.  A  lively 
Christian  unites  with  angels  in  rejoicing  over 
even  one  sinner  that  repenteth.  But  the  back- 
slider has  little  interest  in  such  events.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  he  loves  himself  or  his  Sav- 
iour the  most.  It  grieves  him  more  to  hear 
himself  reviled  than  to  hear  his  Saviour  blas- 
phemed. It  rejoices  him  more  to  hear  himself 
praised  than  to  hear  his  Saviour  commended. 
Such  things  render  it  doubtful  whether  he  ever 
knew  the  Lord — whether  he  ever  was  born 
again.  And  it  is  a  bad  sign  if  they  do  not 
shake  his  confidence  in  his  own  conversion. 

These  things  lead  to  a  great  diminution  of 
solid  religious  comfort.  He  has  few  songs  of 
holy  joy.  His  heart  is  too  cold  to  relish  relig- 
ious duties.  He  looks  on  the  past  with  no  real 
pleasure.  It  reminds  him  of  time  wasted,  of 
vojvs  broken,  of  opportunities  lost,  of  comforts 
decayed,  of  mercies  slighted.  Of  the  future  he 
is  much  afraid.  He  remembers  God,  and  is 
troubled.  He  is  afraid  of  evil  tidings.  He  is 
looking  out  for  some  sore  chastisement. 

His  old  besetting  sins  revive  with  great 
power.  Levity  takes  the  place  of  seriousness ; 
fretfulness  expels  gentleness.     Ambition  be- 


BACKSLIDING.  161 

gins  to  burn  in  the  bosom  where  formerly  dwelt 
lowliness  and  contentment.  Covetousness  re- 
sumes her  iron  despotism ;  or  prodigality  breaks 
out  afresh.  The  heavenly  racer  takes  up  one 
by  one  the  weights  which  he  had  formerly  laid 
aside.  He  runs,  but  as  uncertainly ;  he  fights, 
but  with  great  feebleness. 

Those  who  have  thus  departed  from  God  are 
left  to  see  what  they  can  do  alone.  God  per- 
mits them  to  try  their  own  power  and  resour- 
ces. Of  such  the  Comforter  says,  ''I  will  go 
and  return  to  my  place,  till  they  acknowledge 
their  offence  and  seek  my  face ;  in  their  afflic- 
tion they  will  seek  me  early."  Hos.  5:15. 
Samson  is  now  shorn  of  the  locks  of  his  strength. 
It  will  be  well  if  he  be  not  forced  to  make 
sport  for  the  Philistines.  How  long  one  may 
remain  in  this  state  none  can  tell.  To  escape 
from  such  error  and  sinfulness  is  no  easy  thing. 
It  pleased  God  at  once  to  restore  Peter  after 
he  had  denied  his  Lord.  But  it  seems  to  have 
been  months  before  David  shed  for  his  crimes 
the  tears  of  true  repentance.  It  is  no  easy 
matter  to  escape  from  the  snare  of  the  devil 
when  we  have  once  been  led  captive  by  him  at 
his  will. 

Yet  to  all  God's  people  his  proG:ise  stands 


162  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

sure:  ''I  will  heal  their  backsliding."  Hosea 
14:4.  la  fulfilling  his  promise,  God  will  choose 
his  own  time.  He  heals  when  and  how  he 
pleases.  None  can  hasten,  none  can  retard 
his  work.  The  good  Shepherd  restoreth  the 
soul  of  his  servants,  and  does  not  leave  them 
to  perish  in  their  errors.  He  commonly  be- 
gins the  healing  process  by  convincing  the  soul 
of  its  sad  departures  from  him.  This  is  done 
by  calling  the  mind  to  reflection  on  its  own 
evil  doings.  Sometimes  G-od  sends  Nathan 
the  prophet  with  a  pointed  message,  charging 
home  guilt  upon  the  transgressor.  Sometimes 
he  employs  affliction  to  humble  the  soul  at  his 
footstool.  ''In  their  affliction  they  will  seek 
me  early."  God  is  not  confined  to  any  class 
of  means.  The  crowing  of  the  cock  brought 
home  to  Peter  Christ's  words  of  warning  with 
as  much  power  as  any  truth  that  ever  reached 
man's  heart.  God  sometimes  uses  the  deris- 
ion and  persecution  of  the  wicked  to  awaken 
his  people  out  of  sleep.  The  word  of  God  is, 
to  such,  quick  and  powerful,  and  sharper  than 
any  two-edged  sword.  The  Spirit  reproves. 
He  convinces  of  sin ;  he  reveals  the  baseness 
of  the  heart;  he  makes  one  see  his  folly  and 
ingratitude  in  departing  from  the  living  God. 


BACKSLIDING.  163 

Now  is  fulfilled  that  scripture :  "  The  backslid- 
er in  heart  shall  be  filled  with  his  own  ways." 
Prov.  14:14.  He  forsook  God,  the  fountain 
of  living  waters.  This  was  his  first  error. 
The  second  was  like  unto  it :  he  hewed  out  to 
himself  broken  cisterns,  which  could  hold  no 
water.  God  may  now  let  loose  his  corruptions 
upon  him,  or  send  a  messenger  of  Satan  to 
buffet  him.  He  is  afflicted ;  he  is  tossed  with 
tempest,  and  not  comforted.  He  is  so  "asham- 
ed that  he  cannot  look  up."  He  is  convinced 
that  he  deserves  rejection.  God  often  seems 
to  fulfil  the  threatening:  "I  will  meet  them  as 
a  bear  that  is  bereaved  of  her  whelps."  Hos. 
13:8.  Instead  of  comforting,  he  speaks  words 
of  terror.  The  afflicted  soul  says,  "Oh  that  I 
knew  where  I  might  find  him!  that  I  might 
come  even  to  his  seat!  I  would  order  my 
cause  before  him,  and  fill  my  mouth  with  ar- 
guments. . .  .  Behold,  I  go  forward,  but  he  is 
not  there ;  and  backward,  but  I  cannot  perceive 
him:  on  the  left  hand,  where  he  doth  work, 
but  I  cannot  behold  him :  he  hideth  himself  on 
the  right  hand,  that  I  cannot  see  him."  Job 
23 :  3,  4,  8,  9.  Sometimes  despairing  thoughts 
enter  his  mind,  and  he  cries,  "Why  is  my  pain 
perpetual,  and  my  wound  incurable,  which  re- 


164  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

fuseth  to  be  liealed  ?  Wilt  thou  be  altogether 
unto  me  as  a  liar,  and  as  waters  that  fail?'' 
Jer.  15:18. 

Sometimes  he  cannot  see  any  thing  good 
implanted  in  his  heart  by  God's  Spirit.  He 
almost  concludes  that  no  real  child  of  God 
would  be  left  to  fall  so  low  as  he  has  done. 
The  promises  do  not  comfort  him,  though  the 
threatenings  often  terrify  him.  He  feels  the 
force  and  justice  of  the  charge  God  brings 
against  him:  "Hast  thou  not  procured  this 
unto  thyself,  in  that  thou  hast  forsaken  the 
Lord  thy  God  ?  .  .  ,  Thine  own  wickedness 
shall  correct  thee,  and  thy  backslidings  shall 
reprove  thee :  know  therefore  and  see  that  it 
is  an  evil  thing  and  bitter,  that  thou  hast  for- 
saken the  Lord  thy  God,  and  that  my  fear  is 
not  in  thee."  Jer.  2:17,  19.  He  now  has 
continual  sorrow.  He  drinks  wormwood  and 
gall.  His  conscience  makes  his  soul  like  the 
troubled  sea.  None  can  tell  his  griefs.  "The 
heart  knoweth  its  own  bitterness."  It  is  said 
by  some  that  David  seems  never  to  have  fully 
recovered  hi^  joyousness  after  his  backsliding. 
However  this  may  be,  we  know  how  the  arrows 
of  the  Almighty  stuck  fast  in  him,  and  his 
waves  and  his  billows  passed  over  him.    The 


BACKSLIDING.  165 

pangs  of  a  backslider's  recovery  often  exceed 
those  of  a  first  conversion. 

Such  views  lead  one  to  a  hearty  confession 
of  sin.  ''I  acknowledge  my  transgression,  and 
my  sin  is  ever  before  me."  Psa.  51:3.  This 
confession  may  be  minute  and  particular.  It 
will  go  back  and  deplore  original  sin.  Psa. 
61:5.  It  will  humble  itself  for  sins  committed 
before  conversion:  "Remember  not  the  sins  of 
my  youth,  nor  my  transgressions."  Psa.  25 :  7. 
But  sins  committed  since  a  profession  of  relig- 
ion justly  seem  to  call  for  deep  abasement. 
They  are  against  vows  and  promises,  illumina- 
tion and  ordinances — against  all  that  is  solemn 
in  the  public  owning  of  Christ.  The  fountains 
of  the  great  deep  are  broken  up.  Witnesses 
of  one's  sinfulness  arise  on  all  hands.  The 
stone  out  of  the  wall  cries,  and  the  beam  out  of 
the  timber  answers  it.  Thus  his  confession  is 
not  vague  and  general,  but  definite  and  par- 
ticular. He  sees  good  cause  in  many  a  mis- 
deed why  Grod  should  contend  against  him. 
Sins  against  man  are  not  forgotten;  but  sins 
against  God  are  fearfully  multiplied  and  aggra- 
vated. Sometimes  it  seemiS  as  if  the  soul  was 
made  to  see  all  the  evil  that  ever  it  did,  and 
then  it  cries,  ''I  am  undone."     "0  wretched 


166  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

man  that  I  am."  *'God  be  merciful  to  me  a 
sinner."  ''Enter  not  into  judgment  with  thy 
servant;  for  in  thy  sight, shall  no  man  living 
be  justified."  "If  thou,  Lord,  shouldest  mark 
iniquities,  0  Lord,  who  shall  stand?"  "I  ab- 
hor myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes." 

Sometimes  a  soul  thus  convicted  is  turbu- 
lent, and  rages  like  a  wild  bull  in  the  net. 
And  now  his  bones  wax  old  through  his  roar- 
ing all  the  day  long.  It  is  a  great  thing  to 
have  the  heart  subdued,  and  the  soul  made 
like  a  weaned  child.  When  the  soul  is  thus 
humbled,  quiet,  and  submissive,  when  high 
looks  are  brought  down  and  high  thoughts 
abased,  then  God  grants  a  spirit  of  true  believ- 
ing prayer  and  of  strong  crying.  He  saj^s, 
"  Take  with  you  words,  and  turn  to  the  Lord : 
say  unto  him.  Take  away  all  iniquity,  and  re- 
ceive us  graciously:  so  will  we  render  the 
calves  of  our  lips."  Hos.  14  :  2.  This  spirit 
of  prayer  is  sure  to  be  followed  by  tokens  for 
good.  Itself  is  a  blessed  fruit  of  Christ's  me- 
diation.    He  that  asketh  receiveth. 

And  now  the  Lord  ajopears.  As  the  spouse 
found  it  good  to  be  of  a  quiet,  patient  spirit,  so 
does  the  soul;  for  the  next  thing  is,  "The 
voice  of  my  Beloved !  behold,  he  cometh,  leap- 


BACKSLIDING.  167 

ing  upon  the  mountains,  and  skipping  upon  the 
hills."     Song  2:7.     He  ''cometh  out  of  the 
wilderness  like  pillars  of  smoke,  perfumed  with 
myrrh  and  frankincense."    Song  3  :  6.    When, 
in  the  fulness  of  his  love  and  kindness  and 
power   and    condescension    and    faithfulness, 
Christ  makes  his  appearance  and  shows  him- 
self gracious  to  the  repentant  soul,  there  is  a 
wonderful  change.    He  comes  both  gently  and 
seasonably.     "His  goin^  forth  is  prepared  as 
the  morning."     Hos.  6:3.     He  bids  the  soul 
take  courage.     He  forgives  all  its  sins,  casting 
them  behind  his  back.     He  gives  a  check  to 
corruption.     He  causes  the  tempter  to  depart. 
He  pours  light  into  the  mind.     He  hushes  the 
tumultuous    waves   of    human    passion.      He 
quiets   the   troubles   of  the  soul.      He   says, 
"Peace,  be  still;"  and  suddenly  there  is  a 
great  calm.     Thus  Jesus  is  "a  horn  of  salva- 
tion for  us,  in  the  house  of  his  servant  Da- 
vid. . . .     That  we  should  be  saved  from  our 
enemies,  and  from  the  hand  of  all  that  hate 
us. . . .     That  we,  being  delivered  out  of  the 
hand  of  our  enemies,  might  serve  him  without 
fear,  in  holiness  and  righteousness  before  him, 
all  the  days  of  our  life."  .  .  .     Thus  he  "gives 
knowledge  of  salvation  unto  his  people,  by  the 


168  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

remission  of  their  sins,  tlirough  the  tender 
mercy  of  our  God;  whereby  the  day-spring 
from  on  high  hath  visited  us,  to  give  light  to 
them  that  sit  in  darkness  and  in  the  shadow  of 
death,  to  guide  our  feet  into  the  way  of  peace.'' 
Luke  1 :  69,  etc. 

To  a  soul  thus  exercised,  Christ  in  all  his 
offices  is  precious.  Its  language  is,  ''Whom 
have  I  in  heaven  but  thee  ?  and  there  is  none 
upon  earth  that  I  desire  besides  thee."  "Set 
me  as  a  seal  upon  thy  heart,  as  a  seal  upon 
thine  arm ;  for  love  is  strong  as  death.  Many 
waters  cannot  quench  love,  neither  can  the 
floods  drown  it;  if  a  man  would  give  all  the 
substance  of  his  house  for  love,  it  would  be 
utterly  contemned."  Song  8 :  6,  7.  In  such  a 
soul  the  purposes  of  obedience  are  humble,  but 
firm.  Faith  gains  many  an  important  victory. 
Penitence  loves  to  shed  her  secret  tears.  Hope 
looks  up,  and  says,  I  shall  soon  be  for  ever 
with  the  Lord.  The  spirit  of  adoption  says, 
That  awful  God,  who  shakes  the  heavens  with 
his  voice,  is  my  kind  and  merciful  Father. 
Aversion  to  sin  is  now  strong.  The  soul  says, 
"What  shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord  for  all 
his  benefits?"  Gratitude  is  ready  to  make 
any  offering ;  it  withholds  nothing. 


BACKSLIDING.  169 

In  one  thus  dealt  with  by  the  Lord  are 
strikingly  fulfilled  these  passages  of  Scripture : 
''I  waited  patiently  for  the  Lord;  and  he  in- 
clined unto  me,  and  heard  my  cry.  He  brought 
me  up  also  out  of  a  horrible  pit,  out  of  the 
miry  clay,  and  set  my  feet  upon  a  rock,  and 
established  my  goings.  And  he  hath  put  a  new 
song  in  my  mouth,  even  praise  unto  our  God : 
many  shall  see  it,  and  fear,  and  shall  trust  in 
the  Lord."  Psa.  40  : 1-3.  Nor  is  the  follow- 
ing language  of  the  psalmist  less  applicable  to 
his  case:  ''I  love  the  Lord,  because  he  hath 
heard  my  voice  and  my  supplications.  Be- 
cause he  hath  inclined  his  ear  unto  me,  there- 
fore will  I  call  upon  him  as  long  as  I  live. 
The  sorrows  of  death  compassed  me,  and  the 
pains  of  hell  gat  hold  upon  me:  I  found  trou- 
ble and  sorrow.  Then  called  I  upon  the  name 
of  the  Lord;  0  Lord,  I  beseech  thee,  deliver 
my  soul.  Gracious  is  the  Lord,  and  righteous ; 
yea,  our  God  is  merciful.  The  Lord  preserv- 
eth  the  simple:  I  was  brought  low,  and  he 
helped  me.  Return  unto  thy  rest,  0  my  soul ; 
for  the  Lord  hath  dealt  bountifully  with  thee. 
For  thou  hast  delivered  my  soul  from  death, 
mine  eyes  from  tears,  and  my  feet  from  falling. 
I  will  walk  before  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  the 

vital  Godliness.  8 


170  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

living.''  Psalm  116:1-9.  Thus  experience 
teaches  the  sense  and  sweetness  of  many  a 
passage  of  Scripture  formerly  read  without 
understanding.  Indeed  it  is  not  uncommon 
for  those  thus  recovered  to  think  that  this  is 
their  first  conversion,  and  that  never  before 
did  they  know  in  their  souls  the  joy  of  God's 
salvation.  The  change  is  great.  The  grace  is 
great. 

When  God  thus  heals  backsliders,  he  kind- 
ly adds  these  blessings:  ''I  will  love  them 
freely ;  for  mine  anger  is  turned  away  from 
him.  I  will  be  as  the  dew  unto  Israel."  That 
is,  I  will  send  daily  gentle,  refreshing  influ- 
ences upon  him.  "He  shall  grow  as  the  lily, 
and  cast  forth  his  roots  as  Lebanon.  His 
branches  shall  spread,  and  his  beauty  shall  be 
as  the  olive-tree,  and  his  smell  as  Lebanon. 
They  that  dwell  under  his  shadow  shall  re- 
turn ;  they  shall  revive  as  the  corn,  and  grow 
as  the  vine :  the  scent  thereof  shall  be  as  the 
wine  of  Lebanon.  Ephraim  shall  say.  What 
have  I  to  do  any  more  with  idols?  I  have 
heard  him,  and  observed  him  :  I  am  like  a 
green  fir-tree.  From  me  is  thy  fruit  found." 
Hos.  14  :  4-8.  All  the  figures  in  this  passage 
may  not  be  intelligible  to  some  ;   but  plain 


BACKSLIDING.  171 

honest  minds  will  not  doubt  that  here  are 
promised  rich  supplies  of  free  grace,  securing 
pardon  of  sin,  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
deep-rooted  vigor,,  increase  of  grace  and  of 
fruitfulness,  usefulness  to  those  under  his  influ- 
ence, a  sweet  sayor  of  piety  at  all  times,  to- 
gether with  an  utter  renunciation  of  idols  and 
of  self-dependence. 

And  now  are  you  a  backslider  ?  Are  you 
cold,  formal,  or  negligent  in  the  secret  duties 
of  religion?  Do  you  feel  the  uneasiness  of 
guilt?  Are  you '' afraid  of  evil  tidings ?"  Do 
you  live  in  constant  apprehension  of  sore  ca- 
lamities? Are  ordinances  unprofitable  lo  you? 
Are  you  in  the  constant  exercise  of  charity,  or 
do  you  indulge  in  a  censorious  spirit?  Are 
you  vain,  light,  trifling?  Do  you  prefer  the 
society  of  the  devout  ?  What  books  do  you 
select?  Are  you  alive  to  the  honor  of  Christ? 
Do  you  enjoij  religion?  Let  these  solemn  ques- 
tions be  asked  frequently  and  answered  hon- 
estly, as  you  shall  give  account  to  God. 

If  you  have  evidence  that  you  are  not  a 
backslider,  then  give  God  the  glory,  and  "be 
not  high-minded,  but  fear."  Nothing  but 
amazing  grace  can  have  preserved  you  from 
the  snare  of  the  fowler.     But  if  you  find  that 


172  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

the  evidence  shows  you  to  be  in  a  state  of  de- 
clension, then  open  your  eyes  to  your  real  con- 
dition, judge  yourself,  confess  your  sins,  and 
cleave  to  God.  Hear  the  kind  call:  "Come, 
and  let  us  return  unto  the  Lord."  Hos.  6:1. 
If  you  should  not  return  and  be  healed,  and  if 
you  should  be  called  to  die,  how  sad  would  be 
your  departure  out  of  this  world.  Your  sun 
would  go  down  behind  a  cloud,  leaving  others 
in  doubt  whether  it  was  not  gone  down  in  eter- 
nal night. 

And  if  your  sanctification  shall  not  advance 
faster  than  it  has  done  since  you  first  believed 
in  Christ,  how  long  will  it  be  before  you  are 
prepared  unto  glory  ?  At  your  present  rate  of 
growth  in  grace,  would  you  be  fit  for  heaven 
in  a  thousand  years?  And  yet  there  is  no  one 
of  us  who  shall  live  a  thousand  months.  Many 
will  not  live  a  thousand  weeks,  yea,  not  a  thou- 
sand days.  Possibly  some  will  not  live  a  thou- 
sand seconds.  Indifference  to  eternal  things 
in  so  critical  circumstances  is  wholly  irrecon- 
cilable with  wisdom. 


FAITH.  173 

CHAPTER   X. 

FAITH. 

Everywhere  in  the  Scriptures  great  stress 
is  laid  on  faith.  In  scores  of  passages  its  ab- 
solute necessity  is  explicitly  declared.  With 
the  word  of  God  Christian  experience  well 
agrees.  The  young  convert  had  neither  hope 
nor  joy  till  he  believed.  His  faith  being  weak, 
he  manifests  great  instability.  But  as  it  in- 
creases, he  grows  stronger  until  he  is  undaunt- 
ed, and  cries,  "Though  he  slay  me,  yet  will  I 
trust  in  him.'^  Old  Christians  speak  much  of 
faith,  and  always  love  to  have  the  truth  con- 
cerning it  clearly  explained. 

But  what  is  the  faith  on  which  the  Scrip- 
tures so  much  insist?  This  is  a  matter  of  chief 
importance.  An  error  here  will  affect  our 
whole  religious  life.  Faith  is  either  human  or 
divine.  In  human  faith  we  rely  upon  what 
men  say.  This  we  do  by  the  constitution  of 
our  minds.  Thus  children  rest  upon  what 
their  parents  tell  them.  Human  faith  is  prop- 
erly confined  to  things  on  which  God  has  not 
spoken.     Its  basis  is  human  testimony.     Di- 


174  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

vine  faith  rests  on  the  testimony  of  God.  It 
concerns  things  which  are  revealed  from 
heaven. 

A  historical  faith  is  an  intellectual  assent 
to  the  truth  of  any  thing  recorded  in  history, 
sacred  or  profane.  Thus  we  believe  that  Cas- 
sar  conquered  Gaul,  and  that  William  of  Nor- 
mandy conquered  Britain.  But  this  belief  has 
no  effect  in  making  us  better  or  worse.  Many 
thus  believe  that  Moses,  David,  Paul,  and 
Christ  said  and  did  all  that  is  ascribed  to  them, 
yet  this  faith  produces  no  change  in  their 
hearts.  It  is  purely  intellectual.  Thus  king 
Agrippa  believed  the  prophets,  as  Paul  de- 
clared.    Acts  26  :  27. 

The  faith  of  miracles  was  a  belief  that  God 
could  and  would  work  a  miracle  by  one  or  for 
one.  This  faith  has  long  since  ceased  to  exist. 
Yet  in  the  days  of  Christ  and  his  apostles  it 
was  quite  common.  It  had  no  saving  power. 
Many  thus  believed  and  perished.  Matt. 
7:22,  23;  1  Cor.  13:2. 

The  faith  of  devils  is  mentioned  by  James 
2  :  19  :  "The  devils  also  believe  and  tremble.'^ 
This  is  a  reluctant  belief.  It  is  forced  upon 
them.  It  is  not  confined  to  fallen  angels. 
Men  often  have  a  belief  of  divine  things  which 


FAITH.  175 

makes  them  very  appreliensive.  Thus  Felix 
trembled  under  the  terrors  of  conscience  pro- 
duced by  Paul's  preaching.  Thus  sinners 
often  die  in  despair,  choked  with  divine  ter- 
rors. This  faith  has  no  love,  no  real  peni- 
tence, no  submission,  no  humility  in  it.  It 
works  wrath,  terror,  and  alienation  from  God. 

A  temporary  faith  is  a  transient  persuasion 
that  the  things  of  revelation  are  true,  impor- 
tant, and  interesting.  It  seizes  upon  the  tem- 
poral benefits  of  the  gospel,  and  fills  the  imagi- 
nation with  very  vivid  conceptions  of  the  pre- 
ciousness  of  godliness,  at  least  for  this  life. 
But  it  never  truly  engages  the  affections  to 
divine  things.  A  little  tribulation  or  persecu- 
tion kills  it  outright.  Luke  8:13.  It  never 
changes  the  heart.  It  is  not  in  its  nature  sav- 
ing. 

The  faith  of  God's  people  relates  to  things 
past,  present,  and  to  come.  It  believes  that 
God  made  the  world.  There  is  the  past.  It 
believes  that  God  is.  There  is  the  present. 
It  believes  that  there  will  be  a  day  of  judg- 
ment. There  is  the  future.  Nor  are  these 
and  other  revealed  truths  believed  by  differ- 
ent kinds  of  faith,  but  all  by  one  and  the  same 
faith.    As  with  the  same  visual  organ  we  look 


176  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

to  the  east,  to  the  west,  to  the  north,  and  to 
the  south,  at  objects  far  from  us  or  near  to  us, 
so  with  the  same  eye  of  faith  we  look  at  things 
thousands  of  years  i3ast,  or  thousands  of  years 
to  come,  or  things  now  existing  in  the  unseen 
world.  Of  old  for  thousands  of  years  the  pious 
believed  in  a  Saviour  to  come.  In  the  days 
of  his  flesh,  his  disciples  believed  in  a  Saviour 
then  come.  For  nearly  two  thousand  years 
God's  people  have  believed  in  a  Saviour  that 
has  come.  In  all  these  cases  the  faith  was  the 
same  in  principle  and  in  its  effects  also. 

The  Westminster  Confession  says,  ''The 
grace  of  faith,  whereby  the  elect  are  enabled 
to  believe  to  the  saving  of  their  souls,  is  the 
work  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  their  hearts,  and 
is  ordinarily  wrought  by  the  ministry  of  the 
word,  by  which  also,  and  by  the  administra- 
tion of  the  sacraments,  and  prayer,  it  is  in- 
creased and  strengthened.  By  this  faith  a 
Christian  believeth  to  be  true  whatsoever  is 
revealed  in  the  word  for  the  authority  of  God 
himself  speaking  therein,  and  acteth  differ- 
ently upon  that  which  each  particular  passage 
thereof  containeth;  yielding  obedience  to  the 
commands,  trembling  at  the  threatenings,  and 
embracing  the  promises  of  God  for  this  life 


FAITH.  177 

and  that  which  is  to  come.  But  the  principal 
acts  of  saving  faith  are  accepting,  receiving, 
and  resting  upon  Christ  for  justification,  sanc- 
tification,  and  eternal  life,  by  virtue  of  the 
covenant  of  grace.  This  faith  is  different  in 
degrees,  weak  or  strong;  may  be  often  and 
many  ways  assailed  and  weakened,  but  gets 
the  victory ;  growing  up  in  many  to  the  attain- 
ment of  a  full  assurance  through  Christ,  who  is 
both  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith." 

A  little  consideration  of  this  account  of 
faith  will  show  how  full,  complete,  and  scrip- 
tural it  is.  The  first  thing  asserted  is  that 
saving  faith  is  not  of  earthly,  but  of  heavenly 
origin;  that  it  is  not  of  man,  but  of  God. 
Faith  is  the  gift  of  God.  It  is  expressly  called 
a  "faith  of  the  operation  of  God."  "Unto  you 
it  is  given  on  the  behalf  of  Christ  to  believe  on 
him."  "  God  hath  dealt  to  every  man  the 
measure  of  faith."  When  "Peter  said,  Thou 
art  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God,  Jesus 
answered  and  said  unto  him.  Blessed  art  thou, 
Simon  Barjona;  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not 
revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  which  is 
in  heaven."  This  faith  is  particularly  ascribed 
to  the  Holy  Ghost  as  its  author.  He  produces 
it  in  the  heart.     So  say  the  Scriptures.    "  The 

8* 


178  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  faith.'^  ''To  another  is 
given  faith  by  the  same  Spirit."  ''  We  having 
the  same  Spirit  of  faith,  also  believe."  The 
reason  why  saving  faith  endures,  is  because  it 
is  the  incorruptible  seed  of  God. 

It  is  next  said  that  in  working  this  faith  in 
us,  God  puts  honor  upon  his  word  as  the  ordi- 
nary instrument.  With  this  also  the  Scrip- 
tures well  agree.  "How  shall  they  believe  in 
him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard  ?  and  how 
shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher  ? . .  .  So 
then,  faith  cometh  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by 
the  word  of  God."  ''  It  pleased  God  by  the 
foolishness  of  preaching  to  save  them  that  be- 
lieve." This  is  the  foundation  of  all  our  en- 
couragement in  proclaiming  the  gospel.  That 
w^hich  is  sown  in  the  weakness  of  man  is  raised 
in  the  mighty  energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  No 
wonder  that  such  happy  results  flow  from  pro- 
claiming the  gospel  whenever  God's  Spirit  at- 
tends it.  It  is  thus  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth.  ' '  God's 
gracious  biddings  are  effectual  enablings." 

In  like  manner  this  faith  is  chiefly  nour- 
ished by  the  ministry  of  the  word  and  other 
ordinances,  and  by  prayer.  "  Lord,  increase 
our  faith."    The  baptism  of  water  is  effectual 


FAITH.  179 

when  accompanied  by  the  baptism  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  The  breaking  of  bread  and  drinking 
of  wine*  are  means  of  nourishment  to  all  those 
who  drink  spiritually  of  the  Rock  which  fol- 
lows them,  even  Christ,  and  who  by  faith  eat 
the  true  bread  which  cometh  down  from  heav- 
en, even  the  Son  of  Grod.  All  the  saints  de- 
sire the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  they  may 
grow  thereby. 

True  faith  respects  all  God's  word.  It  re- 
ceives narratives,  promises,  threatenings,  doc- 
trines, precepts,  warnings,  encouragements,  all 
as  they  were  designed  for  its  use.  It  obeys 
God's  commands.  They  were  given  for  that 
purpose.  It  is  afraid  of  his  threatenings.  It 
trembles  at  his  word.  It  relies  upon  the  prom- 
ises, both  as  they  respect  this  life  and  the  next. 
It  takes  warning  from  many  parts  of  Scripture. 
It  rejoices  in  solid  scriptural  encouragement. 
It  relies  upon  God's  word  as  testimony  that  is 
infallible.  Whatever  God  speaks,  faith  be- 
lieves. It  receives  all  he  has  said.  The  word 
of  God  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever.  So  faith 
receives  it  as  his  word,  and  not  as  the  word  of 
man.     His  authority  is  perfect. 

But  saving  faith  has  special  reference  to 
Christ.    So  the  Scriptures  often  teach.    ''Who 


180  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

is  he  that  overcometh  the  world,  but  he  that 
believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God  ?"  ''  If 
we  receive  the  witness  of  men,  the  witness  of 
God  is  greater ;  for  this  is  the  witness  of  God, 
which  he  hath  testified  of  his  Son.  He  that 
believeth  on  the  Son  of  God  hath  the  witness 
in  himself:  he  that  believeth  not  God  hath 
made  him  a  liar,  because  he  believeth  not  the 
record  that  God  gave  of  his  Son.  And  this  is 
the  record,  that  God  hath  given  to  us  eternal 
life  ;  and  this  life  is  in  his  Son."  "  Believe  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved." 
*'He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlast- 
ing life."  "He  that  believeth  on  him  is  not 
condemned."  In  God's  word  the  great  theme 
is  Christ  Jesus.  ''  To  him  give  all  the  proph- 
ets witness."  "The  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the 
spirit  of  prophecy."  If  to  deny  the  Father  is 
fatal,  so  is  it  also  to  deny  the  Son.  If  to  do 
despite  to  the  Spirit  of  grace  involves  the  loss 
of  the  soul,  to  reject  Christ  as  the  Saviour 
makes  destruction  inevitable.  But  to  receive 
Christ,  to  rest  upon  him,  to  look  to  him,  to 
come  to  him,  to  flee  to  him  for  refuge,  to  take 
him  as  our  Sacrifice,  as  our  Prophet,  Priest, 
and  King,  and  to  do  this  heartily,  is  the  great 
office  of  saving  faith. 


FAITH.  181 

This  faith  is  not  of  equal  strength  in  all 
believers,  nor  in  the  same  believer  at  all  times. 
We  read  of  ''him  that  is  weak  in  faith,"  of 
''little  faith, '^  and  of  "great  faith."  Faith 
grows  by  the  divine  blessing.  The  faith  of 
some  grows  "  exceedingly."  Every  true  dis- 
ciple says,  "Lord,  I  believe;  help  thou  my 
unbelief."  It  finally  gains  every  needful  vic- 
tory. In  some  cases  it  is  matured  into  full 
assurance.  This  is  all  through  Christ,  who 
begins,  carries  on,  and  perfects  the  work  of 
faith  in  us  by  his  Spirit  and  grace. 

This  whole  view  of  faith  is  consistent  with 
itself  and  with  all  the  Scriptures.  It  explains 
many  things  which  otherwise  would  seem  to  us 
enigmatical. 

First,  we  see  why  faith  always  was  and 
always  will  be  necessary.  "B}^  faith  Abel 
offered  unto  God  a  more  excellent  sacrifice 
than  Cain."  This  was  the  religion  of  those 
early  times.  "  When  the  Son  of  man  cometh, 
shall  he  find  faith  on  the  earth  ?"  This  will 
be  the  religion  of  the  latest  times.  The  rea- 
son why  no  man  was  ever  able  or  shall  ever 
be  able  to  please  God  without  faith,  is,  that 
unbelief  at  every  step  sets  aside  all  that  God 
has  said  and  done  for  man's  salvation.      He 


182  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

wlio  would  be  saved  in  unbelief,  would  put 
perpetual  contempt  on  all  the  arrangements  of 
heaven  for  the  recovery  of  lost  men. 

We  also  see  how  reasonable  it  is  that  faith 
should  be  required  of  us.  ''Have  faith  in 
Grod."  "Believe  in  the  Lord  your  God,  so 
shall  ye  be  established.''  ''This  is  the  work 
of  God,  that  ye  believe  on  him  whom  he  hath 
sent."  "Be  not  faithless,  but  believing.'' 
These  are  but  specimens  of  the  authoritative 
tones  in  which  God  speaks  to  us  on  this  sub- 
ject. He  could  not  say  less  if  he  sought  our 
good.  To  permit  us  to  live  in  unbelief  would 
be  to  license  all  sin. 

We  can  also  now  understand  why  the  minds 
of  truly  religious  people  are  so  ready  to  take 
up  with  God's  offers  of  grace  and  mercy.  Be- 
lieving all  God  says,  they  of  course  receive  as 
true  all  that  he  has  alleged  concerning  their 
fallen  and  depraved  condition.  In  other  words, 
they  find  out  that  they  are  sinners,  lost,  guilty, 
vile,  and  helpless.  To  such  the  gospel  is  always 
good  news.  It  is  indeed  life  from  the  dead  to 
a  poor  convinced  sinner,  to  see  the  door  of 
mercy  wide  open,  and  Christ  standing  ready 
to  receive  all  that  come  to  him. 

It  is  also  clear  that  our  friends  can  do  for 


FAITH.  183 

US  nothing  more  kind  than  earnestly  to  pray 
that  our  faith  may  abound.  As  Paul  says, 
''We  pray  always  for  you  that  our  God  would 
count  you  worthy  of  this  calling,  and  fulfil  all 
the  good  pleasure  of  his  goodness,  and  the 
work  of  faith  with  power."  Nor  should  we 
cease  to  implore  the  same  blessing  for  our- 
selves. He  who  has  right  views  in  this  mat- 
ter will  never  lean  on  himself,  nor  trust  in  his 
own  goodness,  or  wisdom,  or  power.  Boston 
well  says,  ''Faith  goes  out  of  itself' for  all  its 
wants."  Its  trust  in  Another  is  at  war  with  all 
self-reliance. 

Thus  faith  always  begets  humility.  It 
brings  down  the  haughty  to  a  sense  of  depen- 
dence. It  takes  away  vain-glorious  notions 
and  boastings.  Yenn  says,  "Faith,  though  it 
be  weak  and  imperfect,  instead  of  exalting 
itself  against  the  justice  of  God,  and  standing 
before  him  in  the  confidence  of  a  lie,  puts  all 
from  itself,  and  gives  the  whole  glory  of  our 
salvation  where  it  is  due."  So  that  as  faith 
goes  abroad  in  quest  of  supplies,  so  it  goes 
forth  of  itself  to  bestow  its  honors.  Its  un- 
ceasing language  is,  "Not  unto  us,  not  unto  us, 
but  to  thy  name  give  glory." 

We  can  also  see  the  difference  between  im- 


184  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

plicit  and  explicit  faith.  The  former  takes  G-od 
at  his  word,  obeys,  and  is  at  peace.  The  lat- 
ter would  have  every  thing  explained,  and  all 
difficulties  removed,  before  it  would  trust  the 
promise  or  obey  the  command.  Implicit  faith 
first  relies,  then  proves.  Explicit  faith  would 
first  prove,  then  trust.  This  made  Bishop 
Hall  say,  ''With  men  it  is  a  good  rule  to  try 
first,  and  then  to  trust;  but  with  respect  to 
God  it  is  otherwise.  I  will  first  trust  him  as 
most  wise,  omnipotent,  and  merciful,  and  try 
him  afterwards.  It  is  as  impossible  for  him  to 
deceive  me  as  not  to  be."  "The  school  of  God 
and  nature  require  two  contrary  manners  of 
proceeding.  In  the  school  of  nature  we  must 
conceive,  and  then  believe;  in  the  school  of 
God  we  must  first  believe,  and  then  we  shall 
conceive.  He  that  believes  no  more  than  h^ 
conceives,  can  never  be  a  Christian ;  nor  he  a 
philosopher  that  assents  without  reason.  In 
nature's  school  we  are  taught  to  elicit  the  truth 
by  logical  discourse ;  but  God  cannot  endure  a 
logician.  In  his  school,  he  is  the  best  scholar 
that  reasons  least  and  assents  most.  In  divine 
things,  I  will  conceive  what  I  can ;  the  rest  I 
will  believe  and  admire.  Not  a  curious  head, 
but  a  believing  and  plain  heart  is  accepted 


FAITH.  185 

with  God."  The  same  is  strongly  expressed 
in  other  words  by  Goodwin:  ''Of  all  acts  of 
faith,  this  of  pure  trust  doth  honor  God  most, 
and  hath  indeed  more  of  faith  in  it :  the  purer 
the  trust  is,  the  greater  the  trust  is;  and  the 
greater  the  trust  is,  the  greater  the  faith  is ; 
and  the  greater  the  faith,  the  more  honor  comes 
to  God."  Mason  also  says,  "Men  would  iirst 
see,  and  then  believe ;  but  they  must  first  be- 
lieve, and  then  see."  Our  Saviour  said,  "Thom- 
as, because  thou  hast  seen  me,  thou  hast  be- 
lieved: blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen, 
and  yet  have  believed."  Of  course,  implicit 
faith  in  man,  or  in  any  system  of  doctrines 
taught  by  men,  is  great  folly.  There  we  have 
a  right  to  demand  explanation,  reasons,  proof. 
But  when  God  says  a  thing  is  so,  the  more 
simply,  promptly,  and  firmly  we  believe  what 
he  says  the  better.  It  is  the  height  of  wisdom 
to  receive  every  word  of  God  as  pure  and  true, 
asking  no  questions  expressive  of  doubt  or 
distrust. 

And  yet  faith,  even  the  simplest  and  stron- 
gest, is  not  irrational,  nor  foolish.  No  man 
acts  so  wisely  as  he  who  implicitly  believes 
God.  Abraham  never  showed  that  his  facul- 
ties were  so  well  regulated  and  orderly  as  when 


186  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

he  went  straight  forward  at  God's  bidding  to 
sacrifice  Isaac.  He  asked  no  reasons,  he  stat- 
ed no  difificulties ;  he  simply  did  as  he  had  been 
commanded,  and  staggered  not  through  unbe- 
lief. The  reason  why  faith  is  so  wise  is,  be- 
cause it  reposes  confidence  in  God,  who  cannot 
lie,  cannot  change,  cannot  fail,  cannot  be  de- 
ceived, thwarted,  or  even  perplexed;  who 
sees  the  end  from  the  beginning,  who  loves 
beyond  all  names  of  love  known  to  mortals,  or 
even  to  angels ;  a  God  and  Saviour  who  never 
trampled  on  a  broken  heart,  who  never  de- 
spised the  cry  of  the  humble,  who  never  left 
the  penitent  to  perish  in  their  sins,  and  who 
will  infallibly  bring  to  eternal  glory  all  who 
take  refuge  in  atoning  blood.  Implicit  faith 
in  each  Person  and  in  all  the  teachings  of  the 
Godhead  is  the  height  of  wisdom  and  virtue 
among  men,  though  implicit  faith  in  any  other, 
even  in  an  angel  from  heaven,  would  be  folly. 
Jer.  17:5;  Gal.  1:8. 

The  view  already  given  of  faith  harmonizes 
well  with  the  definitions  given  of  it  by  all 
sound  writers. 

The  following  is  a  good  definition:  '' Justi- 
fjing  faith  is  a  saving  grace  wrought  in  the 
heart  of  a  sinner  by  the  Spirit  and  word  of 


FAITH.  187 

God,  whereby  he,  being  convinced  of  his  sin 
and  misery,  and  of  the  disability  in  himself  and 
all  other  creatures  to  recover  him  out  of  his 
lost  condition,  not  only  assenteth  to  the  truth 
of  the  promise  of  the  gospel,  but  receiveth  and 
resteth  upon  Christ  and  his  righteousness  there- 
in held  forth  for  the  pardon  of  sin,  and  for  the 
accepting  and  accounting  his  person  righteous 
in  the  sight  of  God  for  salvation." 

Haldane  says,  "Justifying  faith  is  the  be- 
lief of  the  testimony  of  Christ,  and  trust  in  him 
who  is  the  subject  of  that  testimony.  It  is 
believing  with  the  heart.^^ 

Mason  says,  "Eeliance  is  the  essence  of 
faith.  Christ  is  the  object,  the  word  is  the 
food,  and  obedience  the  proof;  so  that  true 
faith  is  a  depending  on  Christ  for  salvation,  in 
a  way  of  obedience,  as  he  is  offered  in  the  gos- 
pel.'' 

Dr.  Archibald  Alexander  says,  "A  full 
persuasion  of  the  truth  revealed  is  faith  in 
every  case ;  but  when  the  truth  believed  is  a 
divine  promise,  this  persuasion  is  of  the  nature 
of  trust  or  confidence." 

D wight  says,  "The  faith  of  the  gospel  is 
that  emotion  of  the  mind  which  is  called  trust 
or  confidence,  exercised   towards    the  moral 


188  VITAL  oodli:ness. 

character  of  God,  and  particularly  of  tlie  Sav- 
iour." 

Charnock  says,  ''Faith  is  a  receiving  the 
testimony  of  Christ  in  the  certainty  of  it  and 
in  the  extent  of  it — the  testimony  of  God's 
promises  to  encourage  us,  of  his  precepts  to 
direct  us,  of  his  threatenings  to  awe  us  and 
make  us  adhere  faster  to  him ;  a  resting  in  this 
testimony  as  certain,  as  the  centre  of  our  souls, 
the  only  foundation  of  our  hopes.  God  is  the 
ultimate  object  of  faith,  Christ  the  immediate 
object  of  faith.  Christ  gives  the  testimony; 
God  is  the  subject  of  that  testimony.  When 
the  witness  Christ  gives  of  the  things  he  hath 
seen  and  heard,  is  received  to  be  rested  in  as 
the  ground  of  our  hope  and  the  rule  of  our 
walk,  this  is  faith." 

Dr.  Hodge  says,  ''Faith  is  not  the  mere 
assent  of  the  mind  to  the  truth  of  certain  prop- 
ositions. It  is  a  cordial  persuasion  of  the  truth, 
founded  on  the  experience  of  its  power,  or  the 
spiritual  perception  of  its  nature,  and  on  the 
divine  testimony.  Faith  is  therefore  a  moral 
exercise.  Men  believe  with  the  heart  in  the 
ordinary  scriptural  meaning  of  that  word ;  and 
no  faith  which  does  not  proceed  from  the  heart 
is  connected  with  justification." 


FAITH.  189 

John  Owen,  speaking  of  the  way  of  life  by 
Christ  Jesus,  says,  ''That  faith  which  works 
in  the  soul  a  gracious  persuasion  of  the  excel- 
lency of  this  way,  by  a  sight  of  the  glory,  wis- 
dom, power,  grace,  love,  and  goodness  of  God 
in  it,  so  as  to  be  satisfied  with  it  as  the  best, 
the  only  way  of  coming  unto  Grod,  with  a  re- 
nunciation of  all  other  ways  and  means  unto 
that  end,  will  at  all  times  evidence  its  nature 
and  sincerity." 

Without  further  comparing  formal  defini- 
tions on  this  subject,  it  may  be  said  that  sound 
writers  fully  agree  with  the  Scriptures  in  rep- 
resenting faith  as  a  simple  act  of  the  mind,  in 
which  both  the  understanding  and  will  are 
united ;  that  the  light  of  knowledge  goes  before 
it  so  far  as  to  reveal  the  mind  of  God,  and  so 
it  is  not  blind  and  credulous,  but  sober,  watch- 
ful, and  intelligent ;  and  that  it  is  the  fruit  of 
warm  affections,  and  so  is  not  cold,  speculative, 
and  without  practical  effect.  Dr.  A.  Alexander 
says,  "Faitll'is  one  simple  exercise  of  the  mind, 
including,  however,  both  the  understanding 
and  will."  John  Calvin  says,  "The  seat  of 
faith  is  not  in  the  brain,  but  in  the  heart ;  not 
that  I  wish  to  enter  into  any  dispute  concern- 
ing the  part  of  the  body  which  is  the  seat  of 


190  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

faith,  but  since  the  word  heart  generally  means 
a  serious,  sincere,  ardent  affection,  I  am  desir- 
ous to  show  the  confideiice  of  faith  to  be  a  firm, 
efficacious,  and  operative  principle  in  all  the 
emotions  and  feelings  of  the  soul,  not  a  mere 
naked  notion  of  the  head." 

Nearly  all  sound  and  lucid  writers  are  care- 
ful to  express  in  so  many  words  their  view  of 
faith,  as  being  more  than  mere  assent  of  the 
mind  to  the  truth  proposed.  ''With  the  heart 
man  believeth  unto  righteousness,  and  with 
the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto  salvation." 
Eom.  10:10.  Mason  says,  ''Assurance  sets 
the  notion  of  faith  too  high,  assent  too  low." 
John  Newton  says,  ' '  Assent  may  be  the  act  of 
our  natural  reason ;  faith  is  the  effect  of  imme- 
diate almighty  power.  Assent  is  often  given 
where  it  has  little  or  no  influence  upon  the 
conduct.     Faith  is  always  efficacious." 

The  effects  of  saving  faith  are  many  and  of 
great  value.  Indeed  they  are  so  important, 
•that  without  them  salvation  in  any  of  its  bene- 
fits is  impossible. 

1.  True  faith  is  the  instrument  of  a  sinner's 
justification  before  God.  So  the  Scriptures 
abundantly  teach.  "The  just  shall  live  by 
faith."     "Abraham  believed  Grod,  and  it  was 


FAITH.  191 

counted  to  liim  for  righteousness."  ''Being- 
justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.''  "Therefore 
we  conclude  that  a  man  is  justified  by  faith 
without  the  deeds  of  the  law."  "  If  righteous- 
ness come  by  the  law,  then  is  Christ  dead  in 
vain."  Here  is  a  grand  result.  Sin  is  forgiven 
and  the  sinner  is  accepted  simply  by  believing 
on  Him  who  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteous- 
ness to  every  one  that  believeth.  This  is  in- 
deed a  mystery  and  an  offence  to  many.  "Jus- 
tification by  sanctification  is  man's  way  to 
heaven,  and  he  will  make  a  little  serve  the 
turn.  Sanctification  by  justification  is  God's, 
and  he  fills  the  soul  with  his  own  fulness." 
God's  way  is  as  mighty  as  it  is  wise.  There  is 
great  historical  verity  in  the  statement  of  Sir 
James  Mackintosh,  that  "the  Calvinistic  peo- 
ple of  Scotland,  Switzerland,  and  New  England 
have  been  more  moral  than  the  same  classes 
among  other  nations.  Those  who  preached 
faith,  or  in  other  words,  a  pure  mind,  have  al- 
ways produced  more  popular  virtue  than  those 
who  preached  good  acts,  or  the  mere  regulation 
of  outward  works."  Justification  by  faith  alone 
is  a  doctrine  highly  promotive  of  holiness. 
2.  Adoption  is  also  by  faith.    "To  as  many 


192  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

as  received  liiui,  to  them  gave  he  power  to 
become  the  sons  of  God,  even  to  as  many  as 
believed  on  his  name."  ''Ye  are  all  the  sons 
of  God  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ."  What  a 
wonderful  effect  is  this:  a  child  of  the  devil 
becomes  a  child  of  God,  an  heir  of  perdition  is 
changed  into  an  heir  of  glory,  and  all  by  reli- 
ance on  the  word  of  God,  and  by  confidence 
in  the  person  and  merits  of  Jesus  Christ.  No 
wonder  believers  have  ever  celebrated  the 
wonders  of  faith. 

3.  Besides  obtaining  justification  and  adop- 
tion, we  also  by  faith  are  made  partakers  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  all  the  ends  of  illumination, 
sanctification,  and  encouragement  in  the  Lord. 
Christ  says,  "He  that  believeth  on  me,  out  of 
him  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water.  This 
spake  he  of  the  Spirit,  which  they  that  believe 
on  him  should  receive."  There  is  no  success, 
progress,  or  comfort  in  religion,  but  through 
this  blessed  Spirit.  To  receive  him  in  his  ful- 
ness of  grace,  is  to  secure  the  earnest  of  all 
good  things,  the  pledge  of  heaven  itself.  "If 
any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is 
none  of  his."  But  if  a  man  have  the  Spirit  of 
Christ,  nothing  can  prove  him  a  castaway,  a 
reprobate,  an  enemy. 


FAITH.  193 

4.  Saving  faith  is  an  infallible  sign  of  regen- 
eration. None  ever  thus  believed  but  those 
who  ''were  born,  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will 
of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God." 
''Whosoever  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ, 
is  born  of  God."  Genuine  faith  being  ours, 
our  regeneration  is  no  longer  doubtful.  Char- 
nock  says,  "Faith  is  of  absolute  necessity  to 
regeneration. . .  Faith  is  a  radical,  vital  grace ; 
as  blood  in  the  veins  is  to  the  body,  so  is  faith 
to  the  soul.  'No  regeneration  without  the 
Spirit ;  and  faith  is  the  first  grace  the  Spirit 
infuseth." 

5.  The  powerful  effect  of  true  faith  in  puri- 
fying the  heart  is  among  its  transcendent  bless- 
ings. This  chiefly  makes  the  difference  be- 
tween it  and  the  faith  of  devils.  It  awakens 
intense  hatred  of  sin,  eager  longings  after  holi- 
ness, blessed  hopes  of  attaining  complete  con- 
formity to  God,  and  a  purpose  to  do  right, 
whatever  may  be  the  result.  There  is  no 
effectual  purifying  of  the  heart  but  by  faith — 
by  faith  laying  hold  of  Christ,  and  obeying  the 
truth.  Hooker  well  says,  "To  make  a  wicked 
and  sinful  man  most  holy  through  his  believ- 
ing, is  more  than  to  create  a  world  of  nothing." 

6.  Another  effect  of  true  faith  is,  to  enkin- 


194  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

die  the  affections.  "It  works  by  love.^^  It 
draws  out  tlie  heart  intensely  after  Christ. 
"To  you  that  believe  he  is  precious;"  or,  as  it 
might  be  rendered,  "preciousness.'^  It  indeed 
causes  a  wholesome  fear  of  God ;  but  its  reign- 
ing power  is  not  that  of  terror,  but  of  love. 
This  sways  every  thing,  counts  no  sacrifice  for 
Christ  too  great,  and  gladly  yields  all  to  hinu 
"The  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us.'^ 

7.  Another  effect  of  faith  is,  that  it  over- 
comes the  world,  and  so  is  unlike  every  kind 
of  dead  faith.  1  John  5:4.  To  gain  a  victory 
over  the  world  is  more  than  philosophy  ever 
did,  more  than  unaided  nature  ever  made  a 
tolerable  show  of  doing,  more  than  ever  was 
done  but  by  one  who  had  the  faith  of  Jesus. 
The  lust  of  the  flesh,  the  lust  of  the  eye,  and 
the  pride  of  life  are  too  strong  for  any  but  the 
power  of  God  working  by  the  Spirit  in  the 
hearts  of  believers.  Therefore,  God  saves  no 
man  but  by  working  this  faith  in  him.  Thus 
we  read,  "As  many  as  were  ordained  to  eter- 
nal life  believed."  If  God  designs  any  saving 
good  to  you,  the  first  infallible  evidence  of  it 
will  be,  that  he  will  work  faith  in  you. 

8.  Faith  is  the  great  foster-parent  of  all 
that  belongs  to  scriptural  piety.     It  begets 


FAITH.  195 

true  worship,  godly  fear,  devout  tlianksgiving, 
genuine  humility'',  Christian  boldness,  holy  joy, 
evangelical  repentance,  enlarged  liberality, 
fervent  love,  a  pure  conscience,  a  holy  life, 
and  final  victory.  Arrowsmith  says,  "Faith 
can  support  when  nature  shrinks;  faith  can 
call  God  Father  when  he  frowns,  and  make 
some  discovery  of  a  sun  through  the  darkest 
cloud."  I  had  rather  be  able  to  walk  in  dark- 
ness, and  have  no  light,  and  yet  trust  in  the 
Lord,  than  to  work  miracles  and  subdue  king- 
doms. There  are  no  offerings  like  those  of 
faith.  It  makes  no  conditions.  It  makes  no 
reserves.  It  cavils  not.  It  falters  not.  It 
gazes  upon  the  cross  till  the  course  of  the  new 
nature  is  set  on  fire  with  heavenly  love.  It 
best  of  all  promotes  its  own  interest  by  utterly 
forgetting  itself,  and  so  realizes  what  a  class 
of  writers  have  asserted,  that  ''true  greatness  is 
unconscious.'^  Like  the  ^ronaut,  the  believer 
rises  by  throwing  over  all  that  could  weigh 
him  down  to  earth.  And  as  faith  is  self- 
renouncing,  so  it  goes  forth  to  glorify  God. 
John  Owen  says,  "It  is  the  proper  nature  of 
faith  to  issue  itself  in  the  admiration  of  that 
which  is  infinite."  It  consents  to  be  as  noth- 
ing, that  God  may  be  all  and  in  all.     It  ex- 


196  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

eludes  boasting.  Rom.  3:27.  It  is  as  jealous 
for  GrocVs  honor  as  it  is  for  personal  salvation. 
Like  the  sun  in  nature,  so  faith  in  the  new  na- 
ture serves  and  warms  all  around  it  and  under 
its  influence.  It  begets  repentance.  Jonah 
3:5.  It  kindles  love  to  an  unseen  Saviour. 
1  Pet.  1:8.  It  begets  forgiveness  to  enemies. 
Luke  17  : 3-5.  It  is  the  great  means  by  which 
the  Grod  of  hope  fills  his  people  with  all  joy 
and  peace.  Rom.  15:13.  It  gives  all  the 
stability  we  have.  Rom.  11 :  20.  It  nourishes 
other  graces,  as  did  Joseph  his  brethren  in 
Egypt.  It  ever  claims  and  clings  to  a  fulness 
in  Christ.  It  makes  the  soul  willing  to  wait  a 
thousand  years  for  an  explanation  of  an  act  of 
providence.  It  is  ever  laying  its  crown  at  the 
feet  of  Immanuel,  and  giving  God  the  glory. 
It  puts  things  in  their  proper  place.  It  abases 
the  sinner  in  the  dust.  It  sets  God  on  the 
throne  of  universal  dominion,  and  Christ  upon 
the  mercy-seat.  It  pronounces  all  God's  ways 
just  and  equal.  It  consents  to  the  law  that  it 
is  holy,  just,  and  good.  It  receives  the  gospel 
as  glad  tidings  of  great  joy,  and  cries,  ''How 
beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of 
him  that  bringeth  good  tidings,  that  publisheth 
peace ;  that  bringeth  good  tidings  of  good,  that 


FAITH.  197 

publishetli  salvation,  that  saith  unto  Zion,  Thy 
God  reigneth."  It  welcomes,  and  does  not 
pervert,  the  doctrine  of  a  gratuitous  salvation. 
It  says  of  the  Saviour,  ''Thou  art  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  living  God.''  It  cries,  "God 
forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Yea,  it  counts  all 
things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  know- 
ledge of  God's  dear  Son. 

No  marvel  that  inspired  writers  so  much 
celebrate  a  grace  that  brings  such  good  to  man 
and  such  glory  to  God.  They  call  it  "precious 
faith."  They  say  it  is  common  to  all  the  peo- 
ple of  God.  They  declare  a  man  blessed  who 
has  even  the  least  unfeigned  faith.  They  say, 
"Faith  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for, 
and  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen."  That  is, 
"it  gives  the  object  hoj^ed  for  at  some  future 
period  a  present  subsistence  in  the  soul,  as  if 
already  possessed."  "Faith  is  also  the  evi- 
dence, the  internal  conviction,  the  demonstra- 
tion of  all  unseen  things."  A  believer  acts  as 
really  upon  the  existence  of  things  invisible, 
future,  eternal,  and  hoped  for,  as  he  does  upon 
his  past  experience  or  his  intuitive  perceptions. 
Even  "the  trial  of  your  faith"  is  said  to  be 
"much  more  precious  than  of  gold  that  perish- 


198  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

eth,  though  it  be  tried  with  fire;"  and  shall 
''be  found  unto  praise,  and  honor,  and  glory, 
at  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ."  When 
inspiration  would  hold  up  God's  sovereignty 
to  the  admiration  of  all  right-minded  men,  it 
says,  ''Hearken,  my  beloved  brethren,  hath 
not  God  chosen  the  poor  of  this  world,  rich  in 
faith,  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  which  he  hath 
promised  to  them  that  love  him  ?"  In  short,  a 
scheme  of  religion  without  faith  would  be  as 
futile  and  powerless  as  a  scheme  of  mercy 
without  a  Saviour. 

It  is  indeed  true  that  faith  shall  not,  like 
love,  last  and  flourish  for  ever ;  but  like  hope, 
it  shall  give  place  to  a  new  state.  Faith  shall 
be  changed  into  sight,  and  hope  into  enjoy- 
ment. In  this  sense,  love  is  greater  than  either 
of  these  graces.  1  Cor.  13:13.  But  this  is 
not  to  their  discredit.  In  this  life,  they  do 
what  no  other  graces  can  accomplish.  In  par- 
ticular, faith  unites  to  Christ,  lays  hold  of  sal- 
vation, conquers  every  foe,  brings  ever}^  bless- 
ing into  the  soul,  i3ronounces  death  abolished, 
crying,  "Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory. 
0  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  0  grave,  where 
is  thy  victory  ?  The  sting  of  death  is  sin,  and 
the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law;  but  thanks  be 


FAITH.  199 

to  God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Oh  it  is  worth  a  life- 
time of  toil,  suffering,  and  self-denial,  to  be 
able  in  the  end  to  say  with  Paul,  "I  know 
whom  I  have  believed ;  and  am  persuaded 
that  he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  com- 
mitted to  him  against  that  day;"  or,  "I  am 
now  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my 
departure  is  at  hand.  I  have  fought  a  good 
fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept 
the  faith ;  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a 
crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the 
righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day; 
and  not  to  me  only,  but  also  unto  all  them 
that  love  his  appearing."  One  of  Halybur- 
ton's  dying  sayings  was,  "The  little  acquaint- 
ance I  have  had  with  God  within  these  two 
days,  has  more  than  ten  thousand  times  repaid 
the  pains  I  have  in  all  my  life  taken  with  re- 
ligion. It  is  good  to  have  God  to  go  to  when 
we  are  turning  our  '  face  to  the  wall.'  '  He  is 
known  for  a  refuge  in  the  palaces  of  Zion ;  a 
very  present  help  in  trouble.' " 

In  applying  this  discussion  to  practical  use, 
observe, 

1.  The  life  of  a  Christian  is  one  of  war. 
The  powers  of  darkness  and  the  powers  of 


200  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

light  make  his  soul  the  arena  of  deadly  strife, 
the  battle-field  where  their  legions  contend  for 
victory.  There  is  nothing  good  but  it  has  its 
opposite.  Arrayed  against  Grod  is  Satan.  If 
God  has  given  his  law,  Satan  also  issues  his 
precepts. 

Many,  very  wicked,  and  false  are  the  great 
principles,  the  common  maxims  of  Satan's  king- 
dom, endorsed  by  the  lives  of  wicked  men,  and 
pleasing  to  the  natural  heart.  Who  can  resist 
their  power?  No  one  who  is  left  to  his  own 
strength.  Without  lively  faith  in  Grod,  every 
man  will  but  serve  the  wicked  one.  Without 
faith  in  Christ,  the  love  of  sin  cannot  be  over- 
come. In  this  war  we  shall  utterly  fail  without 
faith  in  God,  without  the  help  that  comes  from 
God  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus.  Bridge  well  says, 
''True,  saving,  justifying  faith  carries  the  sou] 
through  all  difficulties,  discouragements,  and 
natural  impossibilities,  to  Jesus  Christ."  Be 
not  cast  down  because  the  war  lasts  long,  or 
because  the  conflict  is  terrible.  Fight  on. 
Entangle  not  yourself  with  the  things  of  this 
world.  Be  of  good  courage.  Quit  you  like 
men.     Be  strong. 

2.  We  see  from  this  subject  the  wisdom  of 
submitting  all  our  sentiments  and  practices  to 


FAITH.  201 

God's  word  in  the  spirit  of  docility.  ''  Do  not 
teach  the  Bible,  but  let  the  Bible  teach  you." 
Come  not  to  the  study  of  God's  word  as  a  judge 
or  a  critic,  but  as  a  child,  a  scholar,  a  criminal. 
The  world  is  full  of  mournful  cases  of  persons 
who  believed  what  was  agreeable  and  rejected 
all  else.  The  result  has  always  been  sad. 
Many  examples  might  be  given.  An  author- 
ess somewhat  celebrated,  who  had  declared 
her  preference  for  the  god  of  Thomson's  Sea- 
sons or  of  Hutchinson's  Ethics  over  the  God 
revealed  to  the  patriarchs,  in  her  old  age  thus 
wrote : 

"What  does  life  offer  past  eighty?  For 
my  own  part,  I  only  find  that  many  things  I 
knew,  I  have  forgotten ;  many  things  I  thought 
I  knew,  I  find  I  knew  nothing  about;  some 
things  I  know,  I  have  found  not  worth  know- 
ing ;  and  some  things  I  would  give — Oh,  what 
would  not  one  give  ? — to  know,  are  beyond  the 
reach  of  human  ken.  The  powers  of  man 
strive — how  vainly! — to  penetrate  the  veil, 
to  pierce  the  thick  darkness  which  covers  the 
future.  Life  seems  of  no  value  but  for  what 
lies  beyond;  and  yet  our  views  of  the  future 
are  perhaps  cheerful  or  gloomy,  according  to 
the  weather  or  our  nerves."     Lo,  this  is  the 


202  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

woman  wlio  preferred  tbe  Grod  of  nature  to  the 
God  of  grace;  whose  imagination  ruled  her 
creed ;  whose  fancy  governed  her  faith. 

How  strong  is  the  contrast  between  such 
faith  and  such  dark  views  of  life  and  those  of 
that  eminent  servant  of  God,  Mrs.  Hannah 
More,  who  at  eighty  says,  "  When  and  whither 
belong  to  him  who  governs  both  worlds.  I 
have  nothing  to  do  but  to  trust.  I  bless  God 
T  enjoy  great  tranquillity  of  mind,  and  am  will- 
ing to  depart  and  be  with  Christ  when  it  is  his 
will ;  but  I  leave  it  in  His  hands  who  does  all 
things  well."  Still  later  in  life  she  exclaimed, 
' '  God  of  life  and  light,  whom  have  I  in  heaven 
but  thee?  Happy,  happy  are  those  who  are 
expecting  to  meet  in  a  better  world.  The 
thought  of  that  world  lifts  the  mind  above  itself. 
0  glorious  grace !  It  is  a  glorious  thing  to 
die.'' 

If  you  wish  a  useful  life,  a  pleasant  old  age, 
a  comfortable  death,  or  a  blissful  immortality, 
believe  God,  trust  to  his  grace,  rely  on  his  Son. 
Mingle  not  human  and  divine  helps  and  hopes. 
Rely  on  God  alone  as  your  Father,  on  Christ 
alone  as  your  Redeemer,  on  the  Holy  Ghost 
alone  as  your  Comforter.  Charnock  says,  **He 
that  hath  many  things  to  trust  to,  is  in  sus- 


FAITH.  203 

pense  which  he  should  take  hold  of ;  but  when 
there  is  but  one  left,  with  what  greediness  will 
he  clasp  about  that.  God  cuts  down  worldly 
props,  that  we  might  make  him  our  stay." 
John  Newton  says,  ''  Grace  and  faith  can 
make  the  lowest  state  of  life  sui3portable,  and 
make  a  dismission  from  the  highest  desirable." 
Yield  your  understanding  to  be  taught  of  God ; 
yield  your  heart  to  be  purified  and  educated 
for  God;  yield  your  life  a  sacrifice  to  God. 
All  this  is  your  reasonable  service.  To  do  less 
is  to  rob  God.  Remember  that  nothing  will 
stand  the  test  of  experience  but  that  which 
will  endure  the  trial  of  a  fair  comparison  with 
Scripture.  Always  believe  just  what  God  has 
revealed  for  your  salvation.  If  some  things 
are  not  pleasant  at  first,  they  may  still  be  use- 
ful through  life,  and  in  the  end  a  fountain  of 

joy. 

3.  It  may  be  proper  here  to  say  that  assur- 
ance, or  freedom  from  all  doubt,  is  not  of  the 
essence  of  faith.  ''  There  is  as  much  difference 
between  faith  and  assurance,  as  there  is  be- 
tween the  root  and  the  fruit,"  says  Mason.  He 
who  says  that  one  without  assurance  has  no 
faith,  might  as  well  say  that  an  infant  is  not  a 
human  being.     The  greatest  source  of  unhap- 


204  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

piness  to  the  jdIous  is  the  weakness  of  their 
faith.     It  was  sad  to  hear  Jacob  crying  out, 
''All  these  things  are  against  me."    They  were 
in  fact  all  for  him  and  for  his  family.     Assur- 
ance may  be  lost.    G-enuine  faith  cannot.    Da- 
vid lost  his  assurance,  but  he  did  not  cease  to 
be  a  believer.   Assurance  is  a  flower  that  opens 
with  the  sun  and  shuts  at  night.     But  faith 
grows  and  flourishes  in  cloudy  weather,  in  the 
shade,  and  even  in  total  darkness.     Assurance 
indeed  is  the  faith  of  God's  people  matured, 
full-grown,  perfected.     It  is  every  way  desir- 
able and  vastly  consolatory,  and  certainly  at- 
tainable.    We  should  all  seek  it,  pray  and 
labor  for  it ;  and  if  we  attain  it,  take  good  heed 
that  we  lose  it  not.     We  should  never  forget 
that  assurance  is  as  purely  the  gift  of  God  as 
the  least  degree  of  faith.     It  is  greatly  to  be 
lamented  that  the  faith  of  so  many  seems  sick- 
ly.    Strong  faith  is  one  of  the  best  gifts.     Yet 
let  none  forget  that  little  faith,  Avhen  genuine, 
is  pleasing  to  God,  and  unites  to  Christ.    "As- 
suredly the  least  exercise  of  true  faith  in  Christ 
constitutes  a  man  his  disciple,"  says  Dr.  Scott. 
To  be  able  to  come  trembling  and  touch  the 
hem  of  Christ's  garment,  as  surely  proves  us  in 
the  covenant  as  to  have  a  faith  that  will  re- 


» 


FAITH.  206 

move  mountains.  This  view  is  the  more  im- 
portant, as  true  believers  are  always  modest, 
and  have  a  low  opinion  of  their  own  attain- 
ments in  all  respects.  There  is  many  a  man 
who  cannot  deny  that  he  has  some  faith,  who 
yet  regards  himself  as  the  least  of  all  saints, 
the  most  faltering  of  all  the  true  friends  of  God. 
This  may  be  the  case  with  the  most  eminent 
saints.  Let  us  never  teach  nor  embrace  a 
doctrine  which  would  fill  such  with  sadness. 

4.  The  great  guilt  and  misery  of  the  un- 
converted are  found  in  their  want  of  faith. 
Unbelief  is  their  great  sin.  ' '  This  is  the  con- 
demnation, that  light  is  come  into  the  world, 
and  men  have  loved  darkness  rather  than 
light.''  The  Spirit  convinces  the  world  of  sin 
chiefly  in  this,  because  men  believe  not  in 
Christ.  The  unhappiness  of  a  state  of  unbelief 
is  also  fearful.  It  leaves  the  soul  without  any 
resource  in  trouble,  without  God  in  the  world. 

Unbelief  is  the  great  parent  and  patron  of 
other  forms  of  wickedness.  It  fills  the  mind 
with  wicked  and  violent  prejudices,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  unbelieving  Jews  in  the  time  of  our 
Saviour,  as  in  the  case  of  unbelievers  in  our 
own  day.  It  begets  and  nourishes  a  strong 
voluntary  preference  for  the  things  of  time 


206  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

above  those  of  eternity,  for  the  riches  of  earth 
above  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ,  for 
the  honor  that  cometh  from  man  above  the 
honor  that  cometh  from  God  only,  for  the 
pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season  above  the  pleas- 
ures for  evermore  at  God's  right  hand.  It 
nourishes  above  all  things  else  pride  of  intel- 
lect, of  family,  of  learning,  of  spirit,  of  manli- 
ness, of  personal  virtue.  It  begets  sloth,  dul- 
ness  of  apprehension,  want  of  inquiry.  It  gen- 
erates stubborn  perversity.  It  makes  men 
walk  contrary  to  their  strong  convictions,  their 
avowed  principles.  It  mars  or  renounces  all 
the  duties  of  spiritual  religion.  It  is  revenge- 
ful, and  will  not  forgive  injuries.  It  is  self- 
willed,  and  refuses  to  bow  to  the  authority  of 
God.  It  begets  all  feelings  of  disloyalty  to 
God.  It  prevents  all  true  spiritual  worship. 
It  annihilates  the  promises  and  abrogates  the 
covenant  of  God  in  the  case  of  all  in  whose 
hearts  it  has  sway.  It  makes  the  death  of 
Christ  of  none  effect.  It  scornfully  rejects  the 
remedy  provided  for  us  in  our  ruined  condi- 
tion. It  is  no  wonder  that  God  has  said,  "He 
that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned." 

For  men  to  profess  to  be  peculiarly  philo- 
sophical when  they  say  that  they  believe  what 


FAITH.  207 

they  see  and  no  more,  is  very  absurd.  Apply 
this  rule  to  the  things  of  this  world,  and  who 
can  properly  believe  that  there  is  or  ever  was 
any  man,  city,  island,  or  country,  except  those 
which  he  has  seen  ?  When  God  testifies,  un- 
belief is  as  unphilosophical  as  it  is  wicked. 
How  absurd  for  a  creature  to  make  a  point 
with  the  Creator ;  for  a  worm  of  the  dust  to 
revise  the  decisions  of  infinite  wisdom ;  for  a 
sinner  to  reject  the  Saviour  because  there  are 
in  the  plan  of  salvation  some  things  too  deep 
to  be  sounded  by  the  line  of  created  intellect. 
In  human  nature  there  can  be  nothing 
blacker  than  unbelief.  It  impeaches  Grod's 
wisdom,  power,  goodness,  justice,  mercy,  truth, 
and  faithfulness.  It  holds  up  the  God  of  truth 
as  unworthy  of  credit.  It  makes  him  a  liar. 
It  charges  him  with  perjury.  It  derides  all 
his  goodness  and  despises  all  his  mercy.  It 
makes  light  of  the  bloody  sweat  and  dying  ag- 
onies of  his  dear  Son.  It  is  a  sin  against  the 
law,  against  the  gospel,  against  the  divine 
attributes,  against  every  Person  in  the  God- 
head, against  the  highest  testimonies,  against 
our  own  best  interests,  against  the  only  way  of 
life  and  salvation.  Without  faith  it  is  impos- 
sible to  please  God. 


208  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

5.  Let  all  labor  for  an  increase  of  faith. 
Let  them  resort  to  all  lawful  endeavors  for  the 
growth  of  this  principle.  Yenn  says,  "Soli- 
tude is  a  great  cherisher  of  faith;  were  we 
more  alone  to  pray  and  look  back  upon  our- 
selves, not  to  find  any  good,  but  to  observe 
more  of  the  amazing  blindness  of  heart,  unbe- 
lief, selfishness,  and  vile  idolatry,  which  so 
benumb  our  feelings  of  the  love  of  Christ ; 
were  we  to  be  more  alone  for  these  purposes, 
we  should  enjoy  more  of  the  presence  and  joy 
of  Grod."  The  reading  of  good  religious  biog- 
raphy, and  in  particular  of  the  sufferings  of  the 
martyrs,  does,  with  the  divine  blessing,  mightily 
strengthen  the  faith  of  God's  people.  For  the 
same  reason  we  should  rejoice  in  all  tribula- 
tion, because  under  God  it  strengthens  the 
faith  of  all  his  people.  Blessed  is  the  man 
who  by  faith  lays  up  a  good  foundation  against 
the  time  to  come. 

6.  We  should  especially  so  live  and  labor 
that  we  may  die  in  faith.  How  blessed  is  he 
who  is  permitted  to  close  his  earthly  existence 
in  the  confidence  of  that  holy  belief  which  dis- 
arms death  of  all  stings  and  terrors.  But  this 
is  not  to  be  expected  after  a  life  of  careless- 
ness.   Good  old  Willison  gives  ' '  these  advices  " 


FAITH.  209 

to  all  who  would  be  so  happy  as  to  die  in  faith : 
"1.  Be  careful  to  get  faith  beforehand;  for 
death  is  a  time  to  use  faith,  not  to  get  it.  They 
were  foolish  virgins  who  had  their  oil  to  buy 
when  the  bridegroom  was  close  at  hand.  2. 
Study  to  live  every  day  in  the  exercise  of 
faith,  and  be  still  improving,  and  making  use 
of  Christ  in  all  his  offices,  and  for  all  those  ends 
and  uses  for  which  God  hath  given  them  to 
believers.  3.  Frequently  clear  up  your  evi- 
dences for  heaven,  and  beware  of  letting  sin 
blot  them  to  you.  4.  Record  and  lay  up  the 
experiences  of  God's  dealings  with  you,  and  be 
often  reflecting  upon  them,  that  you  may  have 
them  ready  at  hand  in  the  hour  of  death. 
Lastly,  meditate  much  on  those  promiseg  which 
have  been  sweet  and  comfortable  to  you  in  the 
time  of  trials,  and  beg  that  the  Lord  may  bring 
them  to  your  remembrance  when  you  come  to 
die." 

In  short,  a  life  of  faith  is  the  only  sure 
pledge  of  a  fieath  of  faith,  and  a  death  without 
faith  is  a  death  without  hope. 

"Faith  lights  us  through  the  dark  to  Deity; 
Faith  builds  a  bridge  across  the  gulf  of  death, 
To  break  the  shock  that  nature  cannot  shun, 
And  lands  thought  smoothly  on  the  further  shore." 


210  VITAL  GODLINESS. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

REPENTANCE. 

Repentance  belongs  exclusively  to  the 
religion  of  sinners.  It  has  no  place  in  the 
exercises  of  unfallen  creatures.  He  who  has 
never  done  a  sinful  act,  nor  had  a  sinful  nature, 
needs  neither  forgiveness,  conversion,  nor  re- 
pentance. Holy  angels  never  repent.  They 
have  nothing  to  repent  of.  This  is  so  clear 
that  it  is  needless  to  argue  the  matter.  But 
sinners  need  all  these  blessings.  To  them 
they  are  indispensable.  The  wickedness  of  the 
human  heart  makes  it  necessary.  Under  all 
dispensations,  since  our  first  parents  were  ex- 
pelled the  garden  of  Eden,  God  has  insisted  on 
repentance.  Among  the  patriarchs,  Job  said, 
''  I  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes. '^ 
Under  the  law  David  wrote  the  thirty-second 
and  fifty-first  psalms.  John  the  Baptist  cried, 
"Repent,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand." 
Christ's  account  of  himself  is  that  he  ^'  came  to 
call  sinners  to  repentance."  Just  before  his 
ascension,  Christ  commanded  ''that  repentance 


BEPENTANCE.  211 

and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in  his 
name,  among  all  nations,  beginning  at  Jerusa- 
lem.'' And  the  apostles  taught  the  same  doc- 
trine, "testifying  both  to  the  Jews,  and  also  to 
the  Greeks,  repentance  towards  Grod,  and  faith 
towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  So  that  any 
system  of  religion  among  men  which  should  not 
include  repentance,  would  upon  its  very  face 
be  false.  Matthew  Henry  says,  "  If  the  heart 
of  man  had  continued  ui3right  and  unstained, 
divine  consolations  might  have  been  received 
without  this  painful  operation  preceding;  but 
being  sinful,  it  must  first  be  pained  before  it 
can  be  laid  at  ease,  must  laboi-  before  it  can  be 
at  rest.  The  sore  must  be  searched,  or  it  can- 
not be  cured."  ''  The  doctrine  of  repentance 
is  right  gospel  doctrine.  Not  only  the  austere 
Baptist,  who  was  looked  upon  as  a  melancholy, 
morose  man,  but  the  sweet  and  gracious  Jesus, 
whose  lips  dropped  as  a  honey-comb,  preached 
repentance ;  for  it  is  an  unspeakable  privilege 
that  room  is  left  for  repentance."  This  doc- 
trine will  not  be  amiss  while  the  world  stands. 
Though  repentance  is  an  obvious  and  oft- 
commanded  duty,  yet  it  cannot  be  truly  and 
acceptably  performed  except  by  the  grace  of 
God.     It  is  a  gift  from  heaven.     Paul  directs 


212  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Timothy  in  meekness  to  instruct  those  that 
oppose  themselves,  "if  God  peradventure  will 
give  them  repentance  to  the  acknowledging  of 
the  truth."  Christ  is  exalted  a  Prince  and  a 
Saviour  "to  give  repentance."  So  when  the 
heathen  were  brought  in,  the  church  glorified 
God,  saying,  "Then  hath  God  also  to  the  Gen- 
tiles granted  repentance  unto  life."  All  this 
is  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  Old  Testament 
promises.  There  God  says  he  will  do  this 
work  for  us  and  in  us.  Listen  to  his  gracious 
words  :  "  A  new  heart  also  will  I  give  you,  and 
a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you ;  and  I  will 
take  away  the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh, 
and  I  will  give  you  a  heart  of  flesh.  And  I 
will  put  my  Spirit  within  you,  and  cause  you 
to  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  ye  shall  keep  my 
judgments,  and  do  them."  So  that  true  re- 
pentance is  a  special  mercy  from  God.  He 
gives  it.  It  comes  from  none  other.  It  is  im- 
possible for  poor  fallen  nature  so  far  to  recover 
herself  by  her  own  strength  as  truly  to  repent. 
The  heart  is  wedded  to  its  own  ways,  and  jus- 
tifies its  own  sinful  courses  with  incurable  ob- 
stinacy, until  divine  grace  makes  the  change. 
No  motives  to  good  are  strong  enough  to  over- 
come  depravity  in  the  natural  heart  of  man. 


REPENTANCE.  213 

If  ever  we  attain  this  grace,  it  must  be  through 
the  great  love  of  God  to  perishing  men. 

Yet  repentance  is  most  reasonable.  ^"0 
man  acts  wisely  till  he  repents.  When  the 
prodigal  came  to  himself,  he  went  straightway 
to  his  father.  It  is  so  obviously  proper  that 
he  who  has  done  wrong  should  be  heartily 
sorry  for  it,  and  never  do  so  any  more,  that 
some  infidels  have  asserted  that  repentance 
was  sufficiently  taught  by  natural  religion 
without  the  Bible.  But  this  is  a  mistake.  The 
true  doctrine  of  repentance  is  understood  no- 
where but  in  Christian  countries,  and  not  even 
there  by  infidels.  Besides,  that  which  is  re- 
quired of  us  may  be  very  reasonable,  and  yet 
be  very  repugnant  to  men's  hearts.  When 
called  to  duties  which  we  are  reluctant  to  per- 
form, we  are  easily  persuaded  that  they  are 
unreasonably  exacted  of  us.  It  is  therefore 
always  helpful  to  us  to  have  a  command  of 
God  binding  our  consciences  in  any  case.  It 
is  truly  benevolent  in  God  to  speak  to  us  so 
authoritatively  in  this  matter.  ''  God  now 
commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent.'^ 
The  ground  of  the  command  is  that  all  men 
everywhere  are  sinners.  Our  blessed  Saviour 
was  without  sin,  and  of  course  he  could  not 


214  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

repent.  "With  that  solitary  exception,  since 
the  fall  there  has  not  been  found  any  just  per- 
son who  needed  no  repentance.  And  none  are 
more  to  be  pitied  than  those  poor  deluded  men 
who  see  in  their  hearts  and  lives  nothing  to 
repent  of. 

But  what  is  true  repentance?  This  is  a 
question  of  the  highest  importance.  It  de- 
serves our  closest  attention.  The  following  is 
probably  as  good  a  definition  as  has  yet  been 
given.  "Repentance  unto  life  is  an  evangeli- 
cal grace,  whereby  a  sinner,  out  of  the  sight 
and  sense  not  only  of  the  danger,  but  also  of 
the  filthiness  and  odiousness  of  his  sins,  as  con- 
trary to  the  holy  nature  and  righteous  law  of 
God,  and  upon  the  apprehension  of  his  mercy 
in  Christ  to  such  as  are  penitent,  so  grieves  for 
and  hates  his  sins  as  to  turn  from  them  all  unto 
God,  purposing  and  endeavoring  to  walk  with 
him  in  all  the  ways  of  his  commandments." 
That  this  definition  is  sound  and  scriptural  will 
appear  more  and  more  clearly  the  more  thor- 
oughly it  is  examined.  True  repentance  is 
sorrow  for  sin,  ending  in  reformation.  Mere 
regret  is  not  repentance,  neither  is  mere  out- 
ward reformation.  It  is  not  an  imitation  of 
virtue,  it  is  virtue  itself.     Hooker  says,  "Is 


EEPENTANCE.  215 

it  not  clear  that  as  an  inordinate  delight  did 
first  begin  sin,  so  repentance  must  begin  with 
a  just  sorrow,  a  sorrow  of  heart,  and  such  a 
sorrow  as  rendeth  the  heart ;  neither  a  feigned 
nor  a  slight  sorrow :  not  feigned,  lest  it  in- 
crease sin ;  nor  slight,  lest  the  pleasures  of  sin 
oyer  match  it.'^ 

He  who  truly  repents,  is  chiefly  sorry  for 
his  sins.  He  whose  repentance  is  spurious,  is 
chiefly  concerned  for  their  consequences.  The 
former  chiefly  regrets  that  he  has  do?ie  evil; 
the  latter  that  he  has  incurred  evil.  One  sorely 
laments  that  he  deserves  punishment ;  the  other 
that  he  must  suffer  punishment.  One  approves 
of  the  law  which  condemns  him  ;  the  other 
thinks  he  is  hardly  treated,  and  that  the  law 
is  rigorous.  To  the  sincere  penitent  sin  ap- 
pears exceeding  sinful.  To  him  who  sorrows 
after  a  worldly  sort,  sin,  in  some  form,  appears 
pleasant.  He  regrets  that  it  is  forbidden.  One 
sa^^s  it  is  an  evil  and  bitter  thing  to  sin  against 
God,  even  if  no  punishment  followed.  The 
other  sees  little  evil  in  transgression  if  there 
were  no  painful  consequences  sure  to  follow. 
If  there  were  no  hell,  the  one  would  still  wish 
to  be  delivered  from  sin.  If  there  were  no 
retribution,  the  other  would  sin  with  increased 


216  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

greediness.  The  true  penitent  is  chiefly  averse 
to  sin  as  it  is  an  offence  against  God.  This 
embraces  all  sins  of  every  description.  But  it 
has  often  been  observed  that  two  classes  of 
sins  seem  to  rest  with  great  weight  on  the  con- 
science of  those  whose  repentance  is  of  a  godly 
sort.  These  are  secret  sins,  and  sins  of  omis- 
sion. On  the  other  hand,  in  a  spurious  repent- 
ance the  mind  is  much  inclined  to  dwell  on 
open  sins,  and  on  sins  of  commission.  The 
true  penitent  knows  the  plague  of  an  evil  heart 
and  a  fruitless  life.  The  spurious  penitent  is 
not  much  troubled  about  the  real  state  of  heart, 
but  grieves  that  appearances  are  so  much 
against  him. 

David  says,  "Against  thee,  thee  only  have 
I  sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in  thy  sight. '^ 
Whether  we  interpret  these  words  to  mean  that 
he  had  sinned  secretly  as  to  men,  but  in  plain 
view  of  God,  or  as  expressing  that  God  had 
been  chiefly  dishonored  by  his  sins,  will  not  in 
the  end  make  any  practical  difference.  Both 
are  true.  Home  and  some  others  incline  to 
the  former  view.  But  the  majority  of  good 
writers  seem  to  favor  the  latter  interpretation. 
Bishop  Hall  says,  "It  is  thy  prohibition,  0 
God,  that  can  make  a  sin.     I  have  sinned 


REPENTANCE.  217 

against  men,  but  it  is  thy  law  that  I  have  vio- 
lated; in  that  is  my  offence."  Bishop  Pat- 
rick's paraphrase  is,  ''Not  because  I  stand  in 
fear  of  punishment  from  men,  who  have  no 
power  over  me,  but  because  I  am  so  obnoxious 
to  thee,  whose  judgments  I  ought  to  dread  the 
more  the  less  I  am  liable  to  give  an  account  of 
my  actions  unto  others."  Scott  says,  "David's 
crimes  had  deeply  injured  Bathsheba,  Uriah, 
Joab,  and  the  other  accessaries  to  his  mur- 
der. . .  .  Yet  the  chief  malignity  of  his  con- 
duct consisted  in  this,  that  it  was  a  complica- 
tion of  most  daring  rebellions  against  the  great 
and  glorious  Governor  of  the  world ;  contempt 
of  his  majesty,  excellency,  and  righteous  law. . . . 
This  view  seems  to  have  possessed  and  over- 
whelmed his  mind  to  such  a  degree  as  to  make 
every  other  consideration  appear  comparative- 
ly as  nothing."  Matthew  Henry  adopts  both 
views:  ''To  God  the  affront  is  given,  and  he 
is  the  party  wronged.  It  is  his  truth  that  by 
wilful  sin  we  deu}^,  his  conduct  that  we  de- 
spise, his  command  that  we  disobey,  his  prom- 
ise that  we  distrust,  his  name  that  we  dishon- 
or, and  it  is  with  him  that  we  deal  deceitfully 
and  disingenuously."  But  he  adds,  "That  it 
was  committed  in  God's  sight.     This  not  only 

vital  Godliness.  10 


218  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

proves  it  upon  me,  but  renders  it  'exceeding 
sinful.'"  The  greater  the  being  sinned  against, 
the  greater  is  the  sin.  That  in  a  very  special 
and  strong  sense  all  sin  is  directed  against 
Grod  the  Lawgiver,  is  clear  from  the  nature  of 
things,  and  from  other  parts  of  Scripture. 
Thus  when  murder  is  committed  in  a  state,  it 
is  not  chiefly  the  man  who  was  killed  nor  his 
family,  but  the  commonwealth,  whose  peace 
and  dignity  were  infracted.  Thus  also  the 
bloody  persecutions  against  God's  people  are 
expressly  said  to  have  been  against  God.  ''He 
that  toucheth  you,  toucheth  the  apple  of  his 
eye."  "Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  me?" 
It  is  indeed  true  that  oftentimes  some  one 
sin  is  very  prominent  in  the  thoughts  of  the 
genuine  penitent.  Peter  wept  bitterly  for  hav- 
ing denied  his  Lord.  David  says  of  the  mat- 
ter of  Uriah,  "My  sin  is  ever  before  me."  On 
these  words  Luther  says,  "That  is,  my  sin 
plagues  me,  gives  me  no  rest,  no  peace ;  wheth- 
er I  eat  or  drink,  sleep  or  wake,  I  am  always 
in  terror  of  God's  wrath  and  judgment."  And 
how  often  and  penitently  does  Paul  refer  to  the 
great  sin  of  his  life,  the  murder  of  the  saints. 
Biddulph  says,  "He  singled  it  out  as  the  grand 
evidence  of  the  natural  malignity  of  his  heart. 


I 


REPENTANCE.  219 

Though  pardoned,  accepted,  renewed,  and  joy- 
ful in  the  salvation  of  his  Lord  and  Saviour,  he 
carried  to  the  block  of  martyrdom  the  remem- 
brance of  this  sin.'*  But  though  one  sin  may 
be  first  or  most  deeply  impressed  on  the  mind, 
yet  in  true  repentance  the  mind  does  not  rest 
there.  The  Samaritan  woman  was  first  con- 
victed of  living  with  a  man  who  was  not  her 
husband.  But  soon  she  says  that  Christ  had 
told  her  all  things  that  ever  she  did.  On  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  Peter  labored  to  convict  his 
hearers  of  the  guilt  of  Christ's  death.  He  was 
successful  to  a  great  extent.  The  result  was 
their  repentance  for  all  sin,  and  their  conver- 
sion unto  God.  ''He  that  repents  of  sin  as 
sin,  does  implicitly  repent  of  all  sin."  So  soon 
and  so  clearly  as  he  discovers  the  sinful  nature 
of  any  thing,  he  abhors  it.  A  wicked  thought, 
no  less  than  a  vile  word  or  evil  deed,  is  for  a 
loathing  to  the  true  penitent.  The  promise 
runs,  "They  shall  loathe  themselves  for  the 
evils  which  the}^  have  committed  in  all  their 
abominations."  So  that  if  there  were  no  be- 
ings in  the  universe  but  God  and  the  true  pen- 
itent, he  would  have  very  much  the  same  emo- 
tions of  sorrow  and  humiliation  that  he  has  now. 
And  if  instead  of  countless  offences  he  was 


220  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

conscious  of  comparatively  few,  the  nature  of 
his  mental  exercises  would  be  the  same  as  now. 
It  is  therefore  true  that  he  who  ingenuously 
repents  of  sin,  repents  of  all  sin.  To  change 
one  sin  for  another,  even  though  it  be  less 
gross  or  more  secret,  is  but  disowning  one  en- 
emy of  God  to  form  an  alliance  with  another. 

Nor  is  a  true  penitent  afraid  of  humbling 
himself  too  much.  He  does  not  measure  the 
degrees  of  his  self-abasement  before  God.  He 
would  take  the  lowest  place.  He  says,  "Be- 
hold, I  am  vile;  what  shall  I  answer  thee?" 
"0  God,  thou  knowest  my  foolishness,  and 
my  sins  are  not  hid  from  thee."  "All  our 
righteousnesses  are  as  filthy  rags."  "If  thou. 
Lord,  shouldest  mark  iniquity,  0  Lord,  who 
shall  stand  ?"  "  Have  mercy  upon  me,  0  God, 
according  to  thy  loving -kindness;  according 
unto  the  multitude  of  thy  tender  mercies,  blot 
out  my  transgressions."  It  is  not  of  the  nature 
of  genuine  lowliness  of  heart  before  God  to  be 
nice  and  careful  not  to  get  too  prostrate  in  the 
dust.  Its  great  fear  is,  that  it  will  after  all  be 
proud  and  self-sufficient. 

The  question  is  sometimes  asked,  whether 
every  true  penitent  regards  himself  as  the  chief 
of  sinners.     If  the  question  were  of  crimes 


KEPENTANCE.  221 

against  person  or  property,  most  penitents 
could  easily  find,  in  history  or  in  tlie  world, 
some  who  had  excelled  them  in  flagrant  enor- 
mities. Nor  is  it  possible  for  any  but  God 
absolutely  and  infallibly  to  say  who  is  the 
greatest  sinner  that  ever  lived.  But  is  it  not 
true  that  every  sinner  who  has  truly  repented, 
has  seen  more  evil  in  his  own  heart  and  life 
than  he  ever  saw  in  another?  Comparing 
himself  with  the  law,  in  its  extent,  holiness, 
and  spirituality,  taking  a  candid  view  of  all 
that  enters  into  a  just  estimate  of  his  case,  how 
can  he  but  put  his  hand  upon  his  mouth,  and 
his  mouth  in  the  dust?  Indeed,  nothing  but 
great  self-ignorance  enables  any  man  to  have 
a  good  opinion  of  himself.  It  is  with  good 
cause  that  God  says,  "Know  every  man  the 
plague  of  his  own  heart. '^  "  Commune  with 
your  own  heart  upon  your  bed,  and  be  still." 
As  soon  as  David  properly  thought  on  his 
ways,  he  turned  his  feet  unto  God's  testimo- 
nies. 0  come,  ye  proud  ones,  and  cast  your- 
selves at  the  footstool  of  God's  mercy.  "To 
be  low,  is  the  safest  and  comeliest  posture  for 
sinful  creatures."  True  repentance  has  in  it 
much  profound  humility. 

True  repentance  has  in  it  also  much  shame. 


222  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

This  relates  not  only  to  open  and  disreputable 
crimes,  but  also  to  secret  sins,  to  vain  thoughts 
and  evil  imaginations.  "  I  blush  to  lift  up  my 
face  to  thee,  my  God."  ''Show  the  house  of 
Israel  that  they  may  be  ashamed  for  their  ini- 
quities." He  who  does  not  blush  for  his  sins, 
has  never  been  truly  ashamed  of  them;  has 
never  really  and  heartily  forsaken  them.  "  The 
blush  equally  as  the  tear  becomes  every  sinner. 
To  look  back  on  the  past  with  shame,  no  less 
than  with  sorrow,  becomes  him.  If  he  has  no 
cause  to  be  ashamed  before  men,  yet  he  has 
great  cause  to  be  ashamed  before  God.  If  we 
need  not  blush  for  our  treatment  of  our  fellow- 
creatures,  yet  ought  we  not  to  blush  for  our 
treatment  of  our  God  and  Saviour  ?  All  true 
penitents  do  blush  as  well  as  weep.  They  are 
ashamed  as  well  as  grieved  for  the  things  the}^ 
have  done."  Nor  does  this  shame  cease  with 
the  hope  of  pardon,  but  is  rather  thereby  in- 
creased. So  God  says,  "I  will  establish  unto 
thee  an  everlasting  covenant.  Then  thou  shalt 
remember  thy  ways,  and  be  ashamed. . .  And 
I  will  establish  my  covenant  with  thee;  and 
thou  shalt  know  that  I  am  the  Lord ;  that  thou 
mayest  remember,  and  be  confounded,  and 
never  open  thy  mouth  any  more  because  of 


REPENTANCE.  223 

thy  shame,  when  I  am  pacified  towards  thee 
for  all  that  thou  hast  done,  saith  the  Lord  God.'' 
On  this  point,  universal  Christian  experience 
fully  accords  with  God's  word.  Paul  never 
forgave  himself  for  his  cruel  persecutions.  Pe- 
ter never  ceased  to  be  ashamed  of  his  cowardly 
denial  of  his  Lord.  David  never  ceased  to  be 
ashamed  of  his  base  conduct. 

This  sorrow,  humility,  and  shame  are  not 
merely  for  a  wicked  life,  but  for  a  sinful  na- 
ture ;  not  only  for  actual,  but  also  for  original 
sin.  This  point  seems  to  be  clearly  settled  in 
the  case  of  David,  who,  having  confessed  his 
guiltiness  for  personal  misconduct,  traces  all 
up  to  the  fountain  of  native  depravity.  Listen 
to  his  words  of  anguish :  '*  Behold,  I  was  shapen 
in  iniquity,  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive 
me."  Not  a  spot  is  placed  by  inspired  history 
on  the  character  of  David's  father.  He  him- 
self records  more  than  once  the  excellency  of 
his  mother.  He  cannot  therefore  here  intend 
to  allege  any  thing  against  their  moral  charac- 
ter, except  as  all  who  are  descended  from  our 
first  parents  are  corrupt.  Bishop  Home  says, 
*'No  more  can  be  intended  here,  than  that  a 
creature  begotten  by  a  sinner,  and  formed  in 
the  womb  of  a  sinner,  cannot  be  without  that 


224:  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

taint  which  is  hereditary  to  every  son  and 
daughter  of  Adam  and  Eve."  In  fact,  David 
in  this  psalm  is  occupied  with  his  own  case,  and 
only  as  he  saw  truth  suited  to  make  him  sorry, 
humble,  and  ashamed,  had  he  any  occasion  even 
to  allude  to  others.  President  Davies,  treat- 
ing of  the  nature  of  repentance,  says,  "David's 
repentance  reached  his  heart.  Hence,  in  his 
penitential  psalm,  he  not  only  confesses  his  be- 
ing guilty  of  the  blood  of  Uriah,  but  that  he 
was  shapen  in  iniquity  and  conceived  in  sin, 
and  earnestly  prays.  Create  in  me  a  clean  hearty 
0  God,  and  renew  a  right  sjpirit  within  me." 
Luther  well  says,  ''It  is  a  great  part  of  wis- 
dom for  one  to  know  that  there  is  nothing  good 
in  us,  but  vain  sin — that  we  do  not  think  and 
speak  so  triflingly  of  sin  as  those  who  say  that 
it  is  nothing  else  than  the  thoughts,  words,  and 
deeds  which  are  contrary  to  the  law  of  God. 
But  if  thou  wilt  rightly  point  out,  according 
to  this  psalm,  what  sin  is,  thou  must  say  that 
all  is  sin  which  is  born  of  father  and  mother, 
even  before  the  time  that  man  is  of  age  to 
know  what  to  do,  speak,  or  think."  Calvin 
also  says,  "Now  David  does  not  confess  him- 
self guilty  merely  of  some  one  or  more  sins,  as 
formerly,  but  he  rises  higher,  that  from  his 


REPENTANCE.  225 

mother's  womb  he  has  brought  forth  nothing 
but  sin,  and  by  nature  is  wholly  corrupt,  and 
as  it  were  immersed  in  sin.  And  certainly 
we  have  no  solid  convictions  of  sin,  unless  we 
are  led  to  accuse  our  whole  nature  of  corrup- 
tion. Nay,  each  single  transgression  ought  to 
lead  us  to  this  general  knowledge,  that  nothing 
but  corruption  reigns  in  all  parts  of  our  soul.'' 
If  these  views  are  correct,  then  it  is  vain  for 
men  to  pretend  to  genuine  repentance  who  re- 
nounce the  doctrine  of  native  depravity,  or 
original  sin.  This  doctrine  holds  an  important 
place  in  all  true  religious  experience.  ' '  Though 
we  cannot  wash  in  original  innocency,  we  must 
wash  in  ingenuous  penitency."  Rev.  David 
Dickson  therefore  well  says,  "As  original  sin 
is  common  to  all  men  by  natural  propagation, 
so  is  it  not  abolished  out  of  the  most  holy  in 
this  life ;  and  as  it  is  found  to  show  itself  in  the 
children  of  God  by  actual  transgressions,  so 
must  the  evil  thereof  be  acknowledged  by 
them ;  and  that  not  to  extenuate,  but  to  aggra- 
vate their  sin,  as  David  showeth  here." 

A  true  penitent  also  reforms.  A  holy  life 
is  the  invariable  fruit  of  genuine  repentance. 
*'If  I  have  done  iniquity,  I  will  do  no  more." 
Augustine  says,  "  He  truly  repents  of  the  sins 

10* 


226  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

he  has  committed  who  does  not  commit  the 
sins  he  has  repented  of."  When  Ephraim  sin- 
cerely repented,  he  utterly  renounced  idolatry, 
saying,  ''What  have  I  to  do  any  more  with 
idols?"  He  does  not  really  confess  sin  who 
does  not  forsake  it.  He  who  hates  sin  turns 
from  it.  It  was  not  the  habit  of  David's  life  to 
commit  murder  and  adultery,  though  he  once 
did  both;  nor  of  Peter  to  deny  his  Lord,  and 
curse  and  swear,  though  he  was  once  guilty  of 
both  these.  A  true  penitent  is  not  willing  to 
be  always  sinning  and  repenting.  We  often 
read  of  ''fruits  meet  for  repentance,"  or  "fruits 
worthy  of  repentance."  Paul,  having  said  that 
"godly  sorrow  worketh  repentance  not  to  be 
repented  of;  but  the  sorrow  of  the  world  work- 
eth death,"  gives  a  very  lively  account  of  the 
effects  of  true  repentance:  "For  behold  this 
self-same  thing,  that  ye  sorrowed  after  a  godly 
sort,  what  carefulness  it  wrought  in  you,  yea, 
what  clearing  of  yourselves,  yea,  what  indig- 
nation, yea,  what  fear,  yea,  what  vehement 
desire,  yea,  what  zeal,  yea,  what  revenge." 
Pichard  Baxter  says,  "  True  repentance  is  the 
very  conversion  of  the  soul  from  sin  to  God, 
and  leaveth  not  any  man  in  the  power  of  sin. 
It  is  not  for  a  man,  when  he  hath  had  all  the 


i 


BEPENTANCE.  227 

pleasure  that  sin  will  yield  him,  to  wish  then 
that  he  had  not  committed  it,  which  he  may 
do  then  at  an  easy  rate,  and  yet  to  keep  the 
rest  that  are  still  pleasant  and  profitable  to  his 
flesh.  Like  a  man  that  casts  away  the  bottle 
which  he  hath  drunk  empty,  but  keeps  that 
which  is  full. . .  If  thou  have  true  repentance, 
it  hath  so  far  turned  thy  heart  from  sin,  that 
thou  wouldst  not  commit  it  if  it  were  to  do 
again,  though  thou  hadst  all  the  same  tempta- 
tions ;  and  it  hath  so  far  turned  thy  heart  to 
God  and  holiness,  that  thou  wouldest  live  a  holy 
life  if  it  were  all  to  do  again,  though  thou  hadst 
the  same  temptations  as  afore.''  Mason  says, 
"Eepentance  begins  in  the  humiliation  of  the 
heart,  and  ends  in  the  reformation  of  the  life." 
All  repentance  is  to  be  repented  of,  until  it 
leads  to  holiness. 

"Kepentance  is  the  heart's  sorrow, 
And  a  clear  life  ensuing." 

Grenuine  repentance  also  draws  its  chief 
motives  from  the  milder  aspects  of  the  divine 
character  and  the  sweet  influences  of  the  cross. 
It  is  not  the  severity  so  much  as  the  mercy  of 
God  that  melts  the  heart.  "The  goodness  of 
God  leadeth  thee  to  repentance."  Rom.  2 :14. 
It  melts  the  heart  when  it  sees  God's  kindness 


228  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

and  its  own  baseness.  None  but  a  soul  not 
touched  by  the  finger  of  God  can  agree  to  be 
bad  because  God  is  good,  or  consent  to  a  ca- 
reer of  folly  because  the  Lord  is  merciful. 
Repentance  unto  life  invariably  looks  not 
merely  at  the  goodness  of  God  in  creation  and 
providence,  but  has  a  special  regard  to  the 
work  of  redemption.  ''They  shall  look  on 
Him  whom  they  have  pierced,  and  mourn  and 
be  in  bitterness. ''  This  is  specially  stated  to 
have  been  the  ground  of  the  repentance  of  the 
three  thousand  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  It  is 
so  still.  Nothing  breaks  the  heart  like  a  sight 
of  Christ  crucified.  This  is  obtained  by  faith 
only.  There  can  be  no  evangelical  repentance 
without  saving  faith.  Indeed,  "  the  true  tears 
of  repentance  flow  from  the  eye  of  faith."  To 
"repent  and  believe  the  gospel"  are  not  sep- 
arate, though  they  are  distinct  duties.  He 
who  sincerely  does  one  never  omits  the  other. 
He  who  lacks  one  of  these  graces  never  attains 
the  other.  So  that  true  repentance  is  always 
also  connected  with  love.  "Godly  sorrow  is 
the  sorrow  of  love,  the  melting  of  the  heart; 
love  is  the  pain  and  pleasure  of  a  melting  heart." 
Right  views  of  Christ  and  real  love  to  him  will 
make  every  man  determine  on  the  death  of  all 


REPENTANCE.  229 

his  sins,  and  bring  him  in  deep  sorrow  of  heart 
to  the  feet  of  the  Saviour.  Such  motives  are 
of  the  right  kind.  They  appeal  to  the  higher 
principles  of  our  renewed  nature.  If  they  are 
not  effectual,  nothing  will  melt  us.  Terror 
and  wrath  are  in  vain,  if  love  move  us  not. 
It  is  all  a  delusion  which  supposes  that  strange 
and  startling  events  are  better  suited  to  affect 
the  human  mind  than  the  things  of  love.  Yet 
this  delusion  in  many  is  strong.  It  follows 
some  to  a  death-bed,  and  even  into  hell.  The 
rich  man  said,  "If  one  went  unto  them  from 
the  dead,  they  will  repent." 

The  kind  of  repentance  above  described  is 
a  saving  grace.  He  who  exercises  it  shall  not 
perish.  It  produces  joy,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
prodigal,  and  of  the  converts  in  Jerusalem  and 
Samaria.  ''The  same  Jesus  who  turned  the 
water  into  wine  turns  the  waters  of  repentance 
into  the  wine  of  consolation.''  So  that  it  is 
most  true  of  godly  sorrow,  that  ' '  sorrow  is  bet- 
ter than  laughter.''  "Blessed  are  they  that 
mourn;  for  they  shall  be  comforted."  Thus 
saith  the  Lord,  "  I  dwell  with  him  that  is  of  a 
contrite  and  humble  spirit ;  to  revive  the  spirit 
of  the  humble,  and  to  revive  the  heart  of  the 
contrite  ones." 


230  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

The  Scriptures  speak  of  two  kinds  of  re- 
pentance. Indeed,  there  are  two  very  differ- 
ent words  in  the  Greek  Testament  which  are 
translated  re])entance.  One  means  a  change 
of  mind  thorough  and  entire,  a  turning  away 
of  the  soul  from  sin  and  vanity  to  God  and 
holiness.  It  is  called  "repentance  to  salva- 
tion." Elsewhere  it  is  called  "repentance 
unto  life."  This  is  the  word  used  by  John  the 
Baptist,  Matt.  3:2,  and  by  Christ,  Matt.  4:17, 
when  they  preached  saying,  "Repent,  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."  They  would 
have  us  make  thorough  work  of  it.  This  is  the 
kind  of  repentance  which  is  said  to  awaken  joy 
in  heaven.  This  is  that  repentance  which 
Christ  is  exalted  at  the  right  hand  of  God  to 
grant  unto  Israel.  Indeed,  generally  where 
repentance  in  the  New  Testament  is  spoken 
of,  either  as  a  duty  or  as  a  saving  grace,  the 
word  in  the  original  is  that  the  sense,  of  which 
is  given  above. 

The  other  word  translated  repentance  means 
simply  regret,  or  change  of  purpose.  In  this 
sense  Herod  repented,  when  he  found  that 
his  rash  and  wicked  oath  would  end  in  the 
beheading  of  John.  He  was  sorry,  but  not 
after  a  godly  sort.     Yea,  he  was  ''very  sorry,". 


KEPENTANCE.  231 

but  his  sorrow  worked  death  both  to  John  and 
himself:  temporal  death  to  the  former,  spirit- 
ual death  to  the  latter.  This  word  is  found  in 
some  of  its  forms  five  times  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment: Matt.  21:29,  32,  and  27  : 3 ;  2  Cor. 
7:8;  Heb.  7 :  21.  One  of  them  is  where 
Paul  says,  "Though  I  made  you  sorry  with  a 
letter,  I  do  not  repent,  though  I  did  repent;'^ 
that  is,  I  do  not  regret  it,  though  I  did  regret 
it.  In  Hebrews  we  read,  "The  Lord  sware, 
and  will  not  repent" — will  not  change  his  pur- 
pose— ' '  Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever  after  the 
order  of  Melchizedek."  It  is  found  in  Matthew 
three  times.  It  is  said  of  the  first  son  in  the 
parable,  that  "afterwards  he  repented,"  chang- 
ed his  purpose,  "and  went."  Chap.  21:29. 
So  in  the  same  chapter,  verse  32:  "The  pub- 
licans and  harlots  believed  John ;  and  ye,  when 
ye  had  seen  it,  repented  not" — changed  not 
your  purpose,  did  not  even  regret  the  course 
you  had  taken — "  that  ye  might  believe  Him." 
The  other  case  is  in  Matt.  27:3-5:  "Then 
Judas,  which  had  betrayed  him,  when  he  saw 
that  he  was  condemned,  repented  himself" — or 
simply  repented,  the  word  himself  not  being 
in  the  original — "  and  brought  again  the  thirty 
pieces  of  silver  to  the  chief  p.riests  and  elders, 


232  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

saying,  I  have  sinned  in  that  I  have  betrayed 
innocent  blood.  And  they  said,  What  is  that 
to  us  ?  See  thou  to  that.  And  he  cast  down 
the  pieces  of  silver  in  the  temple,  and  departed, 
and  went  and  hanged  himself."  Here  it  is 
stated  that  Judas  regretted  his  conduct,  had 
the  sorrow  which  works  death ;  but  this  was  all. 
As  this  case  of  Judas  is  very  instructive 
in  the  nature  of  a  spurious  repentance,  let  us 
dwell  on  it  a  little.  His  regret  was  unfeigned. 
Higher  proof  of  his  being  really  sorry  that  he 
had  betrayed  Christ  he  could  not  give.  Mere 
sincerity  is  not  all  that  is  required  in  religion 
generally,  or  in  repentance  in  particular.  There 
must  be  a  change  of  heart  as  well  as  of  pur- 
pose, a  turning  to  God  as  well  as  sorrow.  Nor 
is  the  strength  of  our  emotions  any  test  of  their 
genuineness.  It  is  no  proof  that  your  sorrow 
for  sin  is  of  a  godly  sort,  that  it  is  violent,  and 
fills  your  soul  with  anguish.  It  is  not  proba- 
ble that  any  man  was  ever  more  distressed 
than  Judas.  Quality  rather  than  amount  of 
feeling  is  to  be  sought.  Nor  is  conviction  of 
guilt  proof  that  our  repentance  is  genuine. 
Not  only  Judas,  but  Saul  and  many  others 
have  had  as  deep  and  distressing  convictions 
as  perhaps  ever  wrung  the  human  heart ;  yet 


REPENTAKOE.  233 

they  still  loved  sin,  and  turned  not  to  the  Lord. 
Nor  is  a  full,  frank,  and  public  statement  of  our 
wickedness  in  a  particular  affair  any  proof  that 
we  repent  unto  salvation.  Judas  went  before 
the  very  men  who  had  hired  him  to  treason, 
and  without  any  inducement  from  men,  told 
them  the  whole  matter  and  its  wickedness. 
As  to  his  confessing  his  offence  before  God,  we 
have  no  information.  The  presumption  is  that 
he  did  not  attempt  it.  There  are  deeds  which 
drive  the  soul  far  from  the  mercy-seat,  and 
destroy  all  heart  for  prayer.  Yet  Judas  did 
all  he  could  to  prove  to  man  that  he  condemned 
his  act  of  treachery.  To  that  deed  two  strong 
passions  are  commonly  supp_osed  to  have  con- 
tributed: first,  covetousness.  His  conscience 
so  far  gained  the  victory  over  this  vice,  that 
he  not  only  offered  to  pay  back  the  money, 
but  when  it  was  refused,  he  threw  it  down  in 
the  temple  and  left  it  there.  The  second  pas- 
sion supposed  by  many  to  have  led  to  Christ's 
betrayal  by  Judas  was  revenge,  settled  malice 
for  what  he  felt  to  be  a  painful  exposure  of  his 
character.  Those  who  thus  interpret  his  con- 
duct found  their  opinion  upon  John  13:26-30. 
But  Judas  so  far  gave  up  his  malice  as  pub- 
licly to  declare  that  it  had  no  justification. 


234:  VITAL  GODLINE&S.  ^ 

''I  have  sinned  in  that  I  have  betrayed  the 
innocent  blood."  And  to  show  how  earnest 
he  was  in  all  this,  how  terrible  his  compunc- 
tious visitings  were,  and  how  fearfully  he 
dreaded  the  longer  contemplation  of  his  sin, 
he  actually  took  his  own  life,  and  rushed  un- 
bidden into  the  presence  of  God.  Men  may 
give  their  bodies  to  be  burned,  yet  all  will  not 
avail  without  love  to  God,  faith  in  Christ,  and 
godly  sorrow  for  sin.  That  Judas'  repentance 
was  not  genuine  is  certain;  for  Christ  said, 
*'  It  had  been  good  for  that  man  if  he  had  not 
been  born." 

The  great  defects  of  his  repentance  were 
these:  1.  It  seems  to  have  been  confined  to 
thoughts  about  one  or  two  sins,  and  did  not 
extend  to  the  sins  of  his  life  and  heart,  espe- 
cially the  wickedness  of  his  nature.  2.  Like 
Saul  and  others  he  said,  ^'I  have  sinned;"  but 
not  like  David,  "I  have  sinned  against  the 
Lord."  He  seems  to  have  had  no  great  thoughts 
of  God.  3.  AU  the  sorrow  which  he  felt  was 
upon  principles  of  human  nature  common  to  all 
wicked  men,  and  liable  to  be  brought  into  op- 
eration at  any  time.  He  had  not  the  Spirit. 
There  was  no  spiritual  discernment  in  all  his 
exercises.   4.  His  repentance  was  without  hope. 


EEPENTANCE.  235 

It  had  in  it  the  sullenness  of  despair.     The 
more  he  repented,  the  more  wicked  he  was, 
until  to  his  other  offences  he  added  the  guilt 
of  the  worst  kind  of  murder,   even  suicide. 
5.  So  that  his  sorrow  did  not  lead  him  towards 
God.     He  had  no  confidence  in  atoning  blood, 
no  reliance  upon  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ 
Jesus,  none  of  that  faith  which  led  the  dying 
thief  to  look  to  Christ  and  live.     6.  It  ha(J  no 
genuine  humility  in  it.     Judas  died  as  proud 
as  he  had  lived.     7.  Like  all  cases  of  spurious 
repentance,  this  did  not  end  in  a  reformation. 
It  produced  no  fruits  meet  for  repentance.     It 
made  the  guilty  man  worse  and  worse  at  every 
step,  until  he  "  went  to  his  own  place."     Were 
this  case  of  Judas  duly  considered,  wicked  men 
would  not  with  so  much  security  and  quiet  of 
mind  live  on  in  their  sins.     There  is  something 
very  fearful  in  the  thought,  that  much  which 
among  men  is  highly  esteemed  is  abomination 
in  the  sight  of  God,  and  that  a  repentance 
which  goes  no  further  than  that  of  Judas  but 
prepares  a  man  for  the  prison  of  the  damned. 
Having  spoken  of  confession  of  sin  before 
men,  it  may  be  proper  to  preclude  the  possi- 
bility of  mistake,  by  observing  that  those  sins 
which  are  known  to  men,  and  thus  injure  the 


236  ,         VITAL  GODLINESS. 

cause  of  God  because  they  do  a  public  harm, 
are  to  be  publicly  repented  of  and  renounced  ; 
but  of  those  which  are  private,  Chrysostom 
lays  down  the  true  rule:  ''I  wish  thee  not  to 
bewray  thyself  publicly,  nor  accuse  thyself  be- 
fore others.  I  wish  thee  to  obey  the  prophet 
who  saith,  Disclose  thy  way  unto  the  Lord  ; 
confess  thy  sins  before  him;  tell  thy  sins  to 
him,  that  he  may  blot  them  out.  If  thou  be 
abashed  to  tell  unto  any  other  wherein  thou 
hast  offended,  rehearse  them  every  day  be- 
tween thee  and  thy  soul.  I  wish  thee  not  to 
confess  them  to  thy  fellow-servant,  who  may 
upbraid  thee  with  them ;  tell  them  to  God,  who 
will  cure  them;  there  is  no  need  for  thee  in 
the  presence  of  witnesses  to  acknowledge  them ; 
let  God  alone  see  thee  at  thy  confession.  I 
pray  and  beseech  you  that  you  would  more 
often  than  you  do  confess  to  God  eternal,  and 
reckoning  up  your  trespasses,  desire  his  par- 
don. I  carry  you  not  into  a  theatre  or  open 
court  of  many  of  your  fellow-servants ;  I  seek 
not  to  detect  your  crimes  before  men ;  disclose 
your  conscience  before  God,,  unfold  yourselves 
to  him,  lay  open  your  wounds  before  him,^  the 
very  best  Physician,  and  seek  of  him  salve  for 
them." 


KEPENTANCE.  237 

Whether  in  those  sins  which  injure  men, 
and  so  admit  of  reparation,  we  are  bound  to 
make  restitution,  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt. 
Lev.  6:2-5;  Luke  19:1-10.  The  same  is 
clear  from  PauFs  epistle  to  Philemon. 

Therefore  be  warned  in  tim^  as  to  the  fol- 
lowing things : 

1.  See  that  your  repentance  is  not  that  of 
the  hypocrite  or  worldling.  See  that  it  goes 
beyond  the  repentance  of  fallen  angels.  Many 
repent  of  all  their  good  resolutions  and  refor- 
mations so  soon  as  the  temptation  offers.  He 
that  stole,  and  repented  after  his  way,  steals 
again.  He  that  lied,  and  was  caught  in  un- 
truth, and  so  was  ashamed,  repeats  the  offence, 
but  more  cautiously  than  before.  Let  not  your 
repentance  be  of  this  kind.  It  is  a  very  impor- 
tant truth,  that  every  spurious  kind  of  repent- 
ance is  soon  known  by  the  lack  of  fruits  pro- 
duced in  the  life.  It  is  also  true  that  there  is 
much  sorrow  for  sin  that  is  not  ingenuous  and 
hearty.  Many  look  upon  repentance  as  an 
evil,  necessary  indeed,  but  still  an  evil.  Such 
repentance  as  they  have  is  probably  of  that 
kind.  It  does  them  no  goo^l.  It  works  death. 
Beware  especially  of  superficial  views  and  ex- 
periences.    Some  seem  to  think  themselves 


238  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

well  occupied  in  trying  to  prove  that  sin  is  not 
a  very  great  evil,  that  the  heart  of  man  is  not 
very  far  wrong.  If  such  should  succeed,  they 
will  but  lay  a  foundation  for  the  most  serious 
mistakes  in  personal  experience.  "They  that 
are  whole  nee^  not  a  physician,  but  they  that 
are  sick."  Avoid  all  men  and  books  that  make 
the  impression  that  there  is  no  need  of  a  thor- 
ough change  of  principles  and  affections,  or  that 
it  is  easy  for  him  that  is  accustomed  to  do  evil 
to  learn  to  do  well.  Never  rely  on  a  repent- 
ance that  is  partial — for  some,  but  not  for  all 
sins;  or  a  repentance  that  is  temporary,  and 
produces  no  permanent  change  of  heart  or 
life;  a  repentance  that  refuses  to  confess  or 
repair  a  wrong  done  to  man ;  a  repentance  that 
regards  God's  law  as  too  strict,  or  seems  reluc- 
tant to  take  a  low  place  before  God ;  a  repent- 
ance that  is  offended  with  the  exact  rules  of 
Scripture,  or  with  proper  distinctions  and  dis- 
criminations in  judging  of  piety.  Eest  assured 
that  such  a  state  of  mind  will  be  of  no  avail. 
It  is  peculiarly  strange  that  men  will  hold  fast 
the  price  of  iniquity,  and  yet  hope  that  they 
have  gracious  affections.  Ahab  humbled  him- 
self mightily,  he  covered  himself  with  sack- 
cloth, but  he  was  careful  not  to  restore ;  indeed 


EEPENTANCE.  239 

he  seems  never  to  have  thought  of  restoring 
Naboth's  vineyard  ;  while  Zaceheus  seems 
never  to  have  thought  of  any  thing  less  than 
full  restitution  from  the  time  that  he  first 
turned  to  the  Lord. 

The  greatest  defect,  however,  in  the  relig- 
ious experience  of  many,  is  the  want  of  proper 
tenderness  of  heart  and  of  conscience  based 
upon  clear  evangelical  views.  Eepentance 
without  any  regard  to  the  cross  of  Christ  is  as 
worthless  as  a  faith  that  knows  not  the  Sav- 
iour. If  you  would  have  a  vital  warmth  in 
your  repentance,  it  must  be  obtained  from 
Christ  crucified.  In  every  sense  he  is  our  life. 
See  to  it,  as  you  value  the  favor  of  God,  that 
you  often  visit  Gethsemane  and  Calvary,  the 
cross  and  the  sepulchre  of  Jesus. 

2.  Be  careful  not  to  deny  the  grace  of  God 
shown  you  in  softening  your  heart,  and  cherish 
all  those  sentiments  which  either  belong  to  true 
repentance  or  may  lead  to  it.  Especially  labor 
to  acquire  clear  views  of  the  number  and  ag- 
gravations of  your  sins  against  God.  Be  not 
deterred  from  comparing  your  heart  with  the 
divine  law.  It  is  a  great  mercy  when  God 
grants  us  so  much  repentance  as  to  lead  us  to 
acknowledge  that  we  are  sinners  and  need  his 


240  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

mercy.  The  prodigal  had  really  made  some 
IDrogress  towards  recovery  when  he  was  heart- 
ily willing  to  say,  '' Father,  I  have  sinned 
against  heaven  and  before  thee,  and  am  no 
more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son.  Make  me 
as  one  of  thy  hired  servants."  A  small  degree 
of  genuine  repentance  may  lead  to  more,  and 
so  to  life.  Remember  of  whom  it  was  said, 
*'  A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break,  and  the 
smoking  flax  shall  he  not  quench:  he  shall 
bring  forth  judgment  unto  truth.''  If  the  Sav- 
iour seems  to  be  passing  in  the  way  near  you, 
be  encouraged  to  cry  to  him  to  undertake  your 
case.  Readily  give  up  all  for  his  favor.  It  is 
better  than  life.  Forsake  all  that  you  have, 
and  be  his  disciple.  "  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the 
strait  gate  ;  for  many  shall  seek  to  enter  in, 
and  shall  not  be  able.''  ''If  thy  right  hand 
offend  thee,  cut  it  off;  for  it  is  profitable  for 
thee  to  enter  into  life  maimed  or  halt,  rather" 
than  with  all  thy  members  "to  be  cast  into 
hell-fire."  Rest  assured  that  God  will  favor- 
ably regard  even  the  beginnings  of  genuine 
godly  sorrow.  "  He  looketh  upon  men,  and  if 
any  say,  I  have  sinned,  I  have  perverted  that 
which  is  right,  and  it  profiteth  me  not ;  he  shall 
deliver  his  soul  from  going  down  into  the  pit, 


KEPENTANCE.  241 

and  his  life  shall  see  the  lighf  ''He  that 
covereth  his  sins  shall  not  prosper ;  but  he  that 
confesseth  and  forsaketh  his  sins  shall  find 
mercy.'^  Oh  that  all  would  turn  to  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  with  many  tears  give  all  to  him. 
He  came  to  bind  up  the  broken-hearted,  to  com- 
fort all  that  mourn,  to  give  unto  them  beauty 
for  ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  and  the 
garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness. 
One  genuine  tear  of  penitence  avails  more  in 
salvation  than  all  the  costly  gifts  that  ever 
were  made.  Take  heed  that  you  fall  not  under 
any  delusion  of  the  wicked  one,  whereby  you 
would  be  rendered  dull  and  sluggish  in  this 
work.  Labor  for  the  meat  that  endureth  unto 
life  eternal.  Work  out  your  salvation  with 
fear  and  trembling.  Often  and  solemnly  re- 
view your  life.  Compare  your  ways  with  the 
rules  by  which  you  will  be  judged  in  the  last 
day.  Get  a  clear  insight  into  the  nature  of 
sin,  into  the  multitude  of  your  own  offences, 
and  into  the  blessed  scheme  of  mercy  by  which 
the  vilest  may  be  saved.  If  there  be  a  spark 
of  good  within  you,  it  is  a  token  of  more  good. 
Be  careful  not  to  extinguish  it.  Rather  raise 
it  into  a  flame.  Neglect  no  means  of  deepen- 
ing your  serious  impressions.   Judge  not  your 

vital  Qodllneea.  H 


242  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

self  unworthy  of  everlasting  life  by  slighting 
the  calls  of  mercy.  Think  of  your  own  guilt 
and  misery ;  think  of  God's  love  and  mercy, 
especially  in  the  gift  of  his  dear  Son,  and  lift 
up  your  voice  and  cry  mightily  to  the  Lord, 
till  he  come  near  and  bid  the  waters  of  true 
repentance  to  flow  in  abundance.  Of  one 
thing  we  may  be  assured,  and  that  is,  our  re- 
pentance will  never  be  too  deep.  We  cannot 
hate  sin  too  much.  We  cannot  turn  from  it 
too  determinately  or  too  speedily. 

3.  There  is  no  substitute  for  repentance. 
It  is  the  best  offering  a  sinner  can  make. 
"Eend  your  hearts,  and  not  your  garments.'' 
"The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit:  a 
broken  and  a  contrite  heart,  0  God,  thou  wilt 
not  despise."  Nothing  will  do  but  this,  and 
this  will  do  well.  The  only  alternative  is  re- 
pentance or  perdition.  "Except  ye  repent, 
ye  shall  all  likewise  perish."  "Repent  and 
turn  from  all  your  transgressions ;  so  iniquity 
shall  not  be  your  ruin."  "Next  to  innocence, 
repentance  is  the  greatest  honor."  Although 
repentance  is  no  satisfaction  for  sin,  yet  it  is 
so  necessary  that  we  look  in  vain  for  salvation 
without  it.  "Repent  and  be  converted,  that 
your  sins  may  be  blotted  out."   And  "as  there 


,  EEPENTANOE.  243 

is  no  sin  so  small  but  it  deserves  damnation, 
so,'^  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord,  "there 
is  no  sin  so  great  that  it  can  bring  damnation 
upon  those  who  truly  repent."   Listen  to  God's 
voice  addressed  to  men  far,  very  far  gone  in 
sin:  ''Wash  you,  make  you  clean:  put  away 
the  evil  of  your  doings  from  before  mine  eyes ; 
cease  to  do  evil ;  learn  to  do  well :  seek  judg- 
ment, relieve  the  oppressed,  judge  the  father- 
less, plead  for  the  widow.    Come  now,  and  let 
us  reason  together,  saith  the  Lord  :   though 
your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white 
as  snow ;  though  they  be  red  like  crimson,  they 
shall  be  as  wool."     "Let  the  wicked  forsake 
his  way,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts : 
and  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will 
have  mercy  upon  him,  and  to  our  God,  for  he 
will  abundantly  pardon."   More  gracious  words 
were  never  uttered.     Nothing  can  be  kinder 
than  God's  urgent  calls  to  repent.     The  Lord 
has  very  graciously  spared  you  to  this  hour. 
This  shows  his  readiness  to  save.     Peter  says 
that  we  greatly  err  when  we  ascribe  God's  pa- 
tience and  forbearance  to  any  slackness  in  his 
character,  any  feebleness  in  his  purposes.    But 
he  is  "long-suffering  to  us-ward,  not  willing 
that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all  should 


244  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

come  to  repentance.'^  According  to  God's 
word,  an  impenitent  heart  is  a  sign  of  all  that 
is  evil.  Yes,  wicked  man,  ''after  thy  hard- 
ness and  impenitent  heart,"  thou  "treasurest 
up  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath,  and  reve- 
lation of  the  righteous  judgment  of  Grod."  In- 
deed, the  great  complaint  of  God  against  men 
is  that  they  remain  unaffected:  "I  hearkened 
and  heard,  but  they  spake  not  aright :  no  man 
repented  him  of  his  wickedness,  saying.  What 
have  I  done  ?  every  man  turned  to  his  course, 
as  the  horse  rusheth  into  the  battle.  Yea,  the 
stork  in  the  heavens  knoweth  her  appointed 
times;  and  the  turtle,  and  the  crane,  and  the 
swallow,  observe  the  time  of  their  coming ;  but 
my  people  know  not  the  judgment  of  the  Lord." 
Jer.  8:6,  7.  And  whenever  a  sinner  truly 
repents,  how  surely  and  how  speedily  is  he 
forgiven.  ''I  said,  I  will  confess  my  trans- 
gressions unto  the  Lord,  and  thou  forgavest 
the  iniquity  of  my  sin."  There  is  no  lack  of 
mercy  with  our  God.  His  arms  are  wide  open, 
and  his  heart  is  full  of  tenderness  to  all  who 
will  return  unto  him.  Every  offer  of  mercy, 
every  call  of  the  gospel,  every  affliction  of  life, 
every  reproof  of  conscience,  every  sermon,  and 
every  sacrament  are  so  many  loud  and  earnest 


\ 


EEPENTANCE.  245 

calls  to  repentance,  God  may  not  require  of 
you  to  be  a  preacher,  but  upon  pain  of  damna- 
tion he  demands  that  you  be  a  penitent.  Noth- 
ing is  more  presumptuous  or  vain  than  a  hope 
of  salvation  in  impenitency.  God  has  given 
solemn  warning,  ''lest  there  should  be  among 
you  a  root  that  beareth  gall  and  wormwood; 
and  it  come  to  pass,  when  he  heareth  the  words 
of  this  curse,  that  he  bless  himself  in  his  heart, 
saying,  I  shall  have  peace,  though  I  walk  in  the 
imagination  of  my  heart,  to  add  drunkenness 
to  thirst:  the  Lord  will  not  spare  him,  but  then 
the  anger  of  the  Lord  and  his  jealousy  shall 
smoke  against  that  man,  and  all  the  curses  that 
are  written  in  this  book  shall  lie  upon  him." 
Deut.  29  :  18-20. 

4.  But  when  shall  I  repent?  After  all, 
here  is  the  point  where  failure  is  most  com- 
mon. Multitudes  would  be  greatly  offended  if 
told  that  they  will  die  without  repentance,  and 
yet  they  persist  in  neglecting  it.  As  to  the 
time  of  repentance,  no  wise  man  will  dare  to 
say  a  word  different  from  the  truths  of  the 
Bible.  There  God  says,  "To-day  if  ye  will 
hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  heart."  "Be- 
hold, now  is  the  accepted  time ;  behold,  now 
is  the  day  of  salvation."    Genuine  repentance 


246  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

cannot  be  too  soon.  "God  has  made  promises 
to  late  repentance ;  but  where  has  he  made  a 
promise  (T/'late  repentance?"  Saving  repent- 
ance is  always  well-timed ;  it  is  not  put  off  till 
the  fixedness  of  an  eternal  destiny  has  made 
sorrow  hopeless.  True  repentance  commonly 
begins  its  work  early  in  life — always  in  time. 
Eternity  is  for  retribution,  not  for  turning  to 
God.  None  but  the  presumptuous  defer  this 
work  till  the  last.  ''The  repentance  of  a  dy- 
ing man  often  dies  with  him,"  says  Augustine. 
''  If  we  put  off  our  repentance  to  another  day, 
we  have  a  day  more  to  repent  of,  and  a  day 
less  to  repent  in."  Ambrose,  speaking  of  a 
death-bed  repentance,  says,  ''I  will  counsel  no 
man  to  trust  to  it,  because  I  am  loath  to  de- 
ceive any  man,  seeing  I  know  not  what  to 
think  of  it.  Shall  I  judge  such  a  one  a  casta- 
way ?  Neither  will  I  declare  him  safe.  All  I 
am  able  to  say  is,  let  his  state  be  left  to  the 
will  and  pleasure  of  Almighty  God.  Wilt  thou 
'therefore  be  delivered  of  all  doubt?  Eepent 
while  yet  thou  art  healthy  and  strong.  If  thou 
defer  it  till  time  give  no  longer  possibility  of 
sinning,  thou  canst  not  be  thought  to  have  quit 
sin,  but  sin  has  rather  quit  thee."  Oh  that 
men  were  wise!     Oh  that  they  would  consid- 


REPENTANCE.  247 

er !  Oil  that  tliey  would  lay  to  heart  the 
things  which  belong  to  their  peace,  before  they 
are  for  ever  hid  from  their  eyes !  "  You  can- 
not repent  too  soon.  There  is  no  day  like  to- 
day. Yesterday  is  gone ;  to-morrow  is  God's, 
not  yours.  Oh  think  how  sad  it  will  be  to  have 
your  evidences  to  seek  when  your  cause  is  to 
be  tried ;  to  have  your  oil  to  buy  when  you 
should  need  it  to  burn."  If  ever  there  was  a 
wise  rule,  it  is  this:  "Whatsoever  thy  hand 
findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might."  Perhaps 
you  think  that  repentance  is  in  your  own  power 
without  God's  help,  and  that  you  can  turn  to 
the  Lord  at  any  time.  But  do  not  deceive 
yourself.  It  was  Christ  who  said,  "Without 
me  ye  can  do  nothing."  Eepentance  is  the  gift 
of  God ;  and  are  you  taking  the  right  course 
to  secure  his  gift  when  you  are  wilfully  abus- 
ing his  mercies  and  his  grace  ?  It  is  a  solemn 
thought  too,  that  we  have  the  best  reason  for 
believing  that  of  all  those  called  to  repentance, 
but  few  at  any  time  obey  and  turn  to  God. 
Besides,  none  but  a  madman  would  willingly 
pursue  a  course  which  he  knows  must  end  in 
misery  temporal  or  eternal.  To  expect  that 
the  pains  or  terrors  of  death  will  beget  true 
repentance  in  your  case  is  superlative  folly. 


248  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

They  never  have  had  that  effect  in  any  case. 
The  sorrows  of  the  damned  are  still  more  ter- 
rible, but  even  they  are  neither  purifying  nor 
atoning.  Many  in  every  age  are  much  troub- 
led with  fears  and  terrors,  especially  in  sick- 
ness ;  but  do  you  not  see  how,  upon  recovery, 
they  return  like  the  dog  to  his  vomit,  or  the 
sow  that  was  washed  to  her  wallowing  in  the 
mire  ?  If  you  cannot  be  won  by  kindness,  the 
terrors  of  the  Lord  will  never  make  a  good 
man  of  you. 

One  of  the  most  afflicting  thoughts  respect- 
ing a  death-bed  repentance,  is  that  it  is  impos- 
sible for  any  man  to  prove  that  it  was  genuine, 
and  the  soul  enters  eternity,  to  say  the  least, 
with  an  untried  preparation.  Beware  lest  by 
trifling  with  your  soul's  affairs,  you  at  last  die 
in  utter  despair.  I  have  read  of  a  sick  man 
who  was  exhorted  to  repent.  He  said  he  would 
not  yet ;  for,  if  he  should  recover,  his  compan- 
ions would  make  merry  at  his  expense.  But 
growing  worse,  his  friends  again  urged  him  to 
repent.  His  reply  was,  *'It  is  too  late,  for 
now  I  am  judged  and  condemned."  Oh  turn 
to  the  Lord.  ''Wilt  thou  not  be  made  clean? 
When  shall  it  once  be  ?" 


HUMILITY.  249 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HUMILITY. 

We  rise  in  glory  as  we  sink  in  pride; 
Wliere  boasting  ends,  there  dignity  begins. 

The  word  translated  humility  in  the  New 
Testament  occurs  seven  times.  It  is  once  ren- 
dered lowliness,  once  lowliness  of  mind,  once 
humbleness  of  mind,  and  twice  by  the  simple 
word  humility.  In  Col.  2:18,  23,  it  is  used 
either  for  a  feigned  humility  or  for  a  degrad- 
ing subjection  of  mind,  such  as  all  will- worship 
begets  and  fosters.  The  heathen,  not  having 
any  virtue  corresponding  to  Christian  humility, 
had  no  word  to  express  such  a  quality  of  the 
mind;  and  when  the  New  Testament  writers 
gave  us  their  thoughts,  they  adopted  the  lan- 
guage of  the  age,  and  so  use  in  a  good  sense 
words  which  among  the  heathen  often  had  a 
very  different  sense.  ''The  philosophers 
thought  humility  to  be  the  opposite  of  magna- 
nimity." It  is  one  of  the  peculiar  glories  of 
Christianity  that  it  teaches  unfeigned  humility, 
and  yet  so  as  to  elevate  and  dignify  all  who 
practise  it. 

11* 


250  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Humility  is  lowliness  of  mind,  the  opposite 
of  pride  and  arrogance.  It  belongs  to  the 
essence  of  experimental  religion.  Bates  calls 
it ''  the  peculiar  grace  of  Christians,  the  parent 
and  nurse  of  other  graces,  that  preserves  in  us 
the  light  of  faith  and  the  heat  of  love ;  that 
procures  modesty  in  prosperity  and  patience 
in  adversity ;  that  is  the  root  of  gratitude  and 
obedience,  and  is  so  lovely  in  God's  eyes,  that 
he  'giveth  grace  to  the  humble.' '^  A  lowly 
spirit  is  the  opposite  of  a  lofty  one.  True  hu- 
mility is  an  inward  grace  based  on  a  view  of 
our  own  guilt,  weakness,  vileness,  ignorance, 
and  poverty,  as  compared  with  the  infinite 
excellence  and  glory  of  God.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  lovely  of  all  the  traits  of  a  child  of  God. 
It  is  opposed  to  all  ostentation.  It  not  only 
hides  the  other  graces  of  the  Christian  from 
the  gaze  of  self-admiration,  but  it  hides  itself 
also.  Its  aim  is  not  to  be  thought  humble,  but 
to  be  humble.  The  good  man  loves  to  lie  low, 
and  cares  not  to  have  it  known.  In  the  eyes 
of  others  this  virtue  is  willing  to  take  a  low 
place,  but  claims  no  merit  on  that  account. 

The  Bible  says,  ^'Be  clothed  luith  humility, ^^ 
Have  no  secret  or  single  way  of  display.  Be 
not  humble  merely  respecting  some  things,  and 


HUMILITY.  251 

proud  or  self-conceited  about  others.  Let  the 
robe  of  lowliness  of  mind,  like  the  ample  folds 
of  a  cloak,  cover  up  all  else ;  and  be  not  afraid 
of  thus  suffering  loss.  Humility  will  not  dis- 
figure, but  adorn  you.  As  Rebecca  was  not 
the  less  lovely,  but  the  more  so,  when  she  took 
a  veil  and  covered  her  beauty  and  all  her  jew- 
els ;  so  the  child  of  God  is  peculiarly  beautified 
when  arrayed  in  humbleness  of  mind.  Of  the 
wicked  it  is  said,  "Pride  compasseth  them 
about  as  a  chain,"  Psa.  73:  6 ;  but  the  right- 
eous are  "clothed  with  humility."  Rowland 
Hill  says,  "I  could  say  a  thousand  things  con- 
cerning this  next  to  celestial  valley  of  humil- 
iation. The  air  is  so  salubrious,  the  ground  is 
so  fertile,  the  fruit  so  wholesome;  while  from 
the  branches  of  every  tree  the  voice  of  prayer 
and  praise  are  heard  in  delightful  concert  with 
each  other.  While  living  in  this  valley,  no 
weapon  that  is  fqrmed  against  us  shall  prosper, 
as  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  devil  are  sure  to 
pass  over  our  heads,  since  the  enemy  of  souls 
cannot  shoot  low  enough  to  reach  us  to  our 
hurt." 

To  prevent  mistake,  it  is  right  to  say  that 
humility  has  a  sacred  regard  to  truth.  Its 
judgments  are  formed  on  that  sure  foundation 


252  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

and  by  that  unerring  standard.  God  requires 
of  us  not  meanness,  but  humility ;  not  degra- 
dation, but  a  judgment  and  sense  of  ourselves 
according  to  truth.  We  are  not  at  liberty  to 
think  of  ourselves  more  lowly  or  more  highly 
than  the  truth  requires.  We  are  required  to 
think  soberly  of  ourselves.  It  is  certain  that 
all  sober  thoughts  of  ourselves  will  give  us  a 
very  low  place.  A  high  estimate  of  ourselves 
is  never  according  to  truth. 

Neither  does  humility  consist  in  decrying 
pride  in  general,  nor  in  speaking  against  the 
haughtiness  of  some  of  our  neighbors,  nor  in 
seeking  intercourse  with  low  people  for  selfish 
ends,  nor  in  covering  one's  self  with  rags  or 
rough  garments,  nor  in  afi'ecting  unusual  man- 
ners, nor  in  those  self-restraints  which  are 
intended  to  win  the  good  opinion  of  others 
respecting  our  humility,  nor  in  confessing  sins 
which  we  do  not  forsake,  nor  in  a  servile  dis- 
position or  manner  towards  men,  nor  in  proud- 
ly maintaining  the  humbling  doctrines  of  the 
gospel. 

Even  the  semblance  of  humility  is  often 
thought  advantageous  by  designing  men.  Lord 
Bacon  says,  ''Envy,  which  is  the  canker  of 
honor,   is  best   extinguished  by  declaring  a 


HUMILITY.  253 

man's  self  in  his  ends  rather  to  seek  merit 
than  fame;  and  by  attributing  a  man's  suc- 
cesses rather  to  divine  providence  and  felicity, 
than  to  his  own  virtue  or  policy."  The  cun- 
ning know  that  the  best  way  to  secure  is  to 
seem  to  shun  applause. 

Where  the  mind  is  assured  that  the  humil- 
ity of  another  is  unfeigned,  it  easily  confides, 
and  loves  to  show  affection.  We  love  to  ex- 
press admiration  where  we  suppose  we  are  not 
flattering.  Yirtuous  minds  love  not  to  give 
unreasonable  commendation,  though  they  de- 
light in  uttering  salutary  encouragement.  This 
is  so  true  that,  even  where  the  grace  of  God 
has  not  renewed  the  heart,  but  there  is  merely 
a  natural  difi&dence,  we  esteem  it  amiable.  It 
is  with  pleasure  we  read  that  Saul,  when  he 
heard  of  his  being  chosen  king,  went  and  hid 
himself  among  the  stuff.  Our  feelings  towards 
him  entirely  change  when  he  becomes  am- 
bitious and  cruel  and  self-confident  by  the  use 
of  power,  and  by  dazzling  prospects  for  him- 
self and  his  family.  No  small  part  of  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  people  in  regard  to  some 
public  men  is  chiefly  owing  to  the  belief  that 
they  will  not  be  spoiled  by  public  attention. 
The  charm  of  their  character  is  in  their  mod- 


254:  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

esty.  Honors  are  often  lavished  on  such,  and 
as  often  withheld  from  men  of  an  opposite 
character.  Mankind  meet  not  the  demands  of 
the  bailiff  or  tax-gatherer  with  more  surliness 
than  they  do  the  claims  of  men  to  distinction. 
To  be  proud  and  to  be  popular  is  not  given  to 
men.  In  any  virtue,  the  reality  is  better  than 
the  semblance.  It  is  so  in  humility.  Nature 
is  commonly  stronger  than  art,  and  will  finally 
show  itself.  In  one  sense,  it  is  easier  to  be 
good  than  to  seem  to  be  good.  It  is  less  trou- 
ble to  act  out  an  ingenuous  nature  than  it  is  to 
conceal  an  evil  nature  under  any  disguise. 

The  commendations  bestowed  on  this  vir- 
tue are  high  and  numerous.  Our  Saviour 
said,  "Whosoever  shall  exalt  himself  shall  be 
abased ;  and  he  that  shall  humble  himself  shall 
be  exalted.'^  Matt.  23  :  12.  In  a  note  on  this 
passage,  Dr.  Doddridge  says,  ''Christ  seems, 
by  the  frequent  repetition  of  this  maxim,  to 
intimate  that  he  intended  it  not  only  for  those 
who  were  to  be  teachers  of  others,  but  for  all 
his  disciples  without  exception.  And  it  is  well 
worthy  of  our  observation  that  no  one  sentence 
of  our  Lord]s  is  so  frequently  repeated  as  this, 
which  occurs  at  least  ten  times  in  the  evange- 
lists:'    He  then  refers  to  Matt.  18 :  4  j  20 :  26, 


HUMILITY.  255 

27 ;  23  :  10,  11 ;  Mark  9  :  35  ;  10  :  43,  44  j  Luke 
14:11;  18;  14;  22:26;  John  13:14. 

When  we  examine  other  parts  of  Grod^s 
word,  we  find  they  speak  the  same  language. 
This  will  appear  more  fully  presently.  Soon 
after  the  death  of  the  last  apostle,  we  find 
Christian  writers  dwelling  with  great  urgen- 
cy upon  this  virtue.  Jerome  says,  ''With 
God  nothing  stands  higher  than  humility." 
Augustine,  speaking  of  pride,  says,  "That 
which  first  overcame  man  is  the  last  thing 
which  man  overcomes.''  When  Demosthenes 
was  asked  what  was  the  first  thing  in  a  good 
orator,  he  said.  Delivery;  and  the  second, 
he  replied.  Delivery;  and  the  third,  he  still 
answered.  Delivery.  So  says  Chrysostom, 
"If  I  be  asked  what  is  the  first  thing  that 
makes  a  Christian,  I  answer.  Humility;  and 
the  second.  Humility ;  and  the  third,  Hu- 
mility." 

Later  writers  of  eminence  speak  the  same 
language.  Yenn  says,  "As  soon  as  pride  is 
humbled  enough  not  to  enter  into  controversy 
with  God  about  the  justice  of  his  own  decla- 
rations, every  man  confesses  himself  a  guilty 
sinner,  in  danger  of  eternal  ruin." 

Manton   says,   "The  nettle   mounteth  on 


256  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

high,  while  the  violet  shrouds  itself  under  its 
own  leaves,  and  is  chiefly  found  out  by  its  fra- 
grancy.  Let  Christians  be  satisfied  with  the 
honor  that  cometh  from  God  only.'^ 

Bates  says,  ' '  Humility  is  the  most  precious 
ornament  in  Grod's  sight  j  and  to  be  approved 
by  the  divine  mind  and  accepted  by  the  divine 
will  is  the  highest  honor,  the  most  worthy  of 
our  ambition.  Humility  is  like  the  precious 
balm  that,  mixed  with  other  liquors,  sinks  to 
the  bottom;  but  then  it  is  visible  and  most 
amiable  in  the  sight  of  Grod." 

Evans  says,  "Those  who  are  destitute  of 
humility,  whatever  profession  they  have  made 
of  Christianity,  have  in  truth  the  rudiments  of 
it  yet  to  learn.  If  they  have  been  soaring 
upward  to  heaven  itself  in  the  sublimest  spec- 
ulations, if  they  have  built  up  their  hopes  to 
the  greatest  height  on  other  grounds,  without 
laying  this  at  the  foundation,  they  must  be 
content  to  come  down  again  to  learn  this  les- 
son, which  enters  into  the  elements  of  Christ's 
religion.  A  proud  Christian  is  a  contradictory 
character ;  as  much  so  as  it  would  be  to  say,  a 
wicked  saint.  The  whole  gospel,  in  its  pre- 
cepts, its  great  example,  its  glorious  prospects, 
tends  to  humble  the  pride  of  man ;  and  there- 


HUMILITY.  257 

fore,  whoever  will  come  after  Christ  must  in 
this  respect  deny  himself.'^ 

Dr.  Grill  says,  "Generally  speaking,  those 
that  have  the  most  grace  and  the  greatest  gifts, 
and  are  of  the  greatest  usefulness,  are  the  most 
humble,  and  think  the  most  meanly  of  them- 
selves. So  those  boughs  and  branches  of  trees 
which  are  most  richly  laden  with  fruit  bend 
downwards  and  hang  lowest." 

Dr.  Watts  says,  ''Saints  increase  in  humil- 
ity as  they  draw  nearer  to  heaven.  '  Unwor- 
thy to  be  called  an  apostle,'  said  Paul  concern- 
ing himself  some  years  after  his  conversion. 
As  he  advanced  still  further  in  years,  he  cried 
out,  '  Less  than  the  least  of  all  saints.'  A  little 
before  his  martyrdom,  his  cry  is,  '  the  chief  of 
sinners.' " 

Mason  says,  "  God  had  rather  see  his  chil- 
dren humble  for  sin  than  proud  of  grace. .  . 
Neither  all  the  devils  in  hell  nor  all  the  tempt- 
ations of  the  world  can  hurt  that  man  who 
keeps  himself  humble  and  depending  on 
Christ. . .  As  the  first  step  heavenward  is 
humility,  so  the  first  step  hellward  is  pride." 

The  Persian  proverb  is,  '*A  man  passes 
for  a  sage  when  he  seeks  for  wisdom ;  but  if  he 
thinks  he  has  found  it,  he  is  a  fool." 


258  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

eTohn  Angell  James  says,  "Humility  is  the 
certain  fruit  of  a  heart  wherein  true  religion 
is  duly  cultivated,  and  is  most  conspicuous  in 
those  whose  lives  are  adorned  with  the  most 
exemplary  piety."  » 

As  nothing  so  well  explains  and  enforces 
one's  meaning  as  examples,  a  few  are  here 
given  to  hold  forth  both  the  nature  and  beauty 
of  humility.  The  first  is  that  of  President  Ed- 
wards the  elder.  On  receiving  information  of 
his  election  to  the  presidency  of  Princeton 
college,  he  thus  wrote  to  the  trustees:  ''I  am 
not  a  little  surprised  on  receiving  the  unex- 
pected notice  of  your  having  made  choice  of 
me  to  succeed  the  late  President  Burr  as  the 
head  of  Nassau  Hall.  I  am  much  in  doubt 
whether  I  am  called  to  undertake  the  business 
which  you  have  done  me  the  unmerited  honor 
to  choose  me  for. . .  The  chief  difficulties  in 
my  mind  in  the  way  of  accepting  this  impor- 
tant and  arduous  office  are,  first,  my  own  de- 
fects unfitting  me  for  such  an  undertaking, 
many  of  which  are  generally  known,  besides 
others  of  which  my  own  heart  is  conscious.  I 
have  a  constitution  in  many  respects  unhappy, 
attended  with  flaccid  solids,  vapid,  sizy,  and 
scarce  fluids,  and  a  low  tide  of  spirits,  often 


HUMILITY.  259 

occasioning  a  kind  of  childish  weakness  and 
contemptibleness  of  speech,  presence,  and  de- 
meanor, with  a  disagreeable  dulness  and  stiff- 
ness much  unfitting  me  for  conversation,  but 
more  especially  for  the  government  of  the  col- 
lege. This  makes  me  shrink  at  the  thought  of 
taking  upon  me  in  the  decline  of  life  such  a 
new  and  great  business,  attended  with  such  a 
multiplicity  of  cares,  and  requiring  such  a  de- 
gree of  activity,  alertness,  and  spirit  of  govern- 
ment, especially  as  succeeding  one  so  remark- 
ably well  qualified  in  these  respects,  giving 
occasion  to  every  one  to  remark  the  differ- 
ence. I  am  also  deficient  in  some  parts  of 
learning,  particularly  in  algebra  and  the  higher 
parts  of  mathematics,  and  in  the  Greek  clas- 
sics, my  Grreek  learning  having  been  chiefl}^  in 
the  New  Testament."  Thus  spoke  the  great- 
est divine  of  New  England  and  the  greatest 
metaphysician  of  his  century.  How  many 
with  a  hundredth  part  of  his  attainments  in 
any  respect  would  never  have  had  nor  have 
suggested  the  slightest  difficulty. 

Hear  too  the  Eev.  Samuel  Davies,  who, 
as  he  was  recovering  from  a  dangerous  illness, 
wrote,  "I  am  rising  up  with  a  desire  to  rec- 
ommend Christ  better  to  my  fellow  -  sinners 


260  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

than  I  have  done ;  but  alas,  I  hardly  hope  to 
accomplish  it.  He  has  done  a  great  deal  more 
by  me  already  than  I  ever  expected,  and  infi- 
nitely more  than  I  deserved.  But  he  never 
intended  me  for  great  things.  He  has  beings 
both  of  my  own  and  of  superior  orders,  that 
can  perform  him  more  worthy  service.  Oh, 
if  I  might  but  untie  the  latchet  of  his  shoes,  or 
draw  water  for  the  service  of  his  sanctuary, 
it  is  enough  for  me." 

Take  another  case.  The  Kev.  John  Liv- 
ingston was  one  of  the  wonderful  men  of  Scot- 
land, and  the  ancestor  of  the  family  of  the 
same  name  so  widely  and  so  favorably  known 
in  America.  When  a  licentiate,  he  preached 
June  21,  1630,  on  a  Monday  after  a  com- 
munion, in  the  churchyard  of  the  kirk  of 
Schotts,  with  an  effect  so  remarkable  as  to 
have  been  celebrated  ever  since.  John  Brown 
of  Haddington  says,  that  under  this  one  sermon 
"five  hundred  were  converted  to  Christ." 
Many  others  have  pointed  to  that  day  as 
closely  resembling  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Liv- 
ingston's own  account  of  it  is  simple  and  mod- 
est. He  says,  "The  night  before,  I  had  been 
with  some  Christians  who  spent  tlie  night  in 
prayer  and  conference.     When  I  was  alone  in 


HUMILITY.  261 

the  fields  about  eight  or  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  before  we  were  to  go  to  sermon,  there 
came  such  a  misgiving  spirit  upon  me,  consid- 
ering my  unworthiness  and  weakness,  and  the 
expectation  of  the  people,  that  I  was  consult- 
ing with  myself  to  have  stolen  away  some- 
where, and  declined  that  day's  preaching ;  but 
then  I  thought  I  durst  not  so  far  distrust  God, 
and  so  went  to  sermon,  and  got  good  assist- 
ance about  an  hour  and  a  half  upon  the  points 
which  I  had  meditated  on,  Ezek.  36 :  25,  26. 
And  in  the  end,  offering  to  close  with  some 
words  of  exhortation,  I  was  led  on  about  an 
hour^s  time  in  a  strain  of  exhortation  and  warn- 
ing with  such  liberty  and  melting  of  heart  as  I 
never  had  the  like  in  public  in  all  my  life  time.'' 
Such  is  the  humble  statement  of  the  great  man 
who  preached  the  most  remarkable  sermon 
which  has  been  delivered  for  perhaps  fifteen 
hundred  years. 

When  Moses  came  down  from  the  mount, 
"he  wist  not  that  his  face  shone."  I  once 
heard  a  man  boasting  that  he  and  his  coadju- 
tors were  Smithfield  men.  He  forgot  that  the 
Smithfield  men  of  a  former  century  never  knew 
that  they  were  such  until  they  went  home  to 
God.     They  were  humble  men,  and  greatly 


262  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

distrusted  themselves  to  the  last.  They  had 
contemporaries  who  thought  themselves  ready 
to  die  in  the  cause  of  Christ ;  but  as  jDrison  and 
death  stared  them  in  the  face,  they  turned  Pa- 
pists. 

In  the  New  Testament  we  have  several 
pleasing  examples  of  humility.  Thus  in  the 
gospel  which  bears  his  name,  Matthew  does 
not  tell  us  that  he  was  rich  and  made  a  great 
feast  for  Christ.  We  learn  that  fact  from 
another  evangelist.  Matthew  simply  tells  us 
what  occurred  when  Jesus  sat  at  meat,  without 
hinting  who  gave  the  entertainment.  When 
the  apostolic  authority  of  Paul  was  questioned, 
and  for  the  truth's  sake  he  was  compelled  to 
defend  it,  he  seems  really  pained  by  being  led 
to  speak  of  himself  so  much,  and  calls  it  folly, 
but  says  it  was  necessary.  True  humility  is 
opposed  both  to  egotism  and  ostentation.  It 
is  also  opposed  to  all  self-conceit  before  God 
or  man.  Look  too  at  the  woman  of  Canaan. 
How  illustriously  did  she  prove  that  true  hu- 
mility is  not  easily  offended. 

Humility,  when  genuine,  runs  through  all 
the  deportment.  It  is  an  ingredient  of  the 
character.  It  influences  both  public  and  pri- 
vate behavior.     But  there  are  special  occa- 


HUMILITY.  263 

sions  when  it  displays  itself  in  a  very  unmis- 
takable manner.     One  of  these  is,  when  re- 
proof is  administered.     Its  language  ever  is, 
''Let  the  righteous  smite  me;   it  shall  be  a 
kindness;  and  let  him  reprove  me;   it  shall 
be  an  excellent  oil,  which  shall  not  break  my 
head."      Psa.   141:5.      When  reproved,   the 
truly  humble  do  not  fall  into  a  rage,  nor  hate 
the  man  who  has  shown  fidelity  in  warning 
them  of  their  fault  or  danger.     Again,  some 
of  the  duties  of  life  are  honorable.     Offices  are 
to  be  filled,  courtesies  are  to  be  shown,  defer- 
ence is  to  be  manifested.     The  truly  humble 
man  is  not  at  a  loss  at  such  times.     Paul  di- 
rects that  in  such  cases  we  should  ''in  honor 
prefer   one   another."     Rom.   12:10.      Else- 
where he  says,  "Let  nothing  be  done  through 
strife  or  vain-glory ;  but  in  lowliness  of  mind 
let  each  esteem  other  better  than  themselves." 
Phil.  2  : 3.     The  humble  man  is  not  offended 
with  such  rules.     The  apostle  Peter  in  like 
manner  says,  "Likewise,  ye  younger,  submit 
yourselves  unto  the  elder.     Yea,  all  of  you  be 
subject  one  to  another,  and  be  clothed  with 
humility ;  for  God  resisteth  the  proud,  but  giv- 
eth  grace  to  the  humble." 

Nor  is  the  humble  man  pleased  with  flat- 


264  VITAL  GOl>LINESS. 

tery.  It  may  be  adroitly  administered;  but 
he  knows  that  any  lifting  up  of  his  soul  is  not 
for  his  good.  He  is  not  one  of  those  silly 
ones  who  relies  upon  the  praises  of  men.  He 
cares  not  to  have  them.  Nor  is  he  much  af- 
fected by  their  slanderous  accusations.  With 
him  it  is  a  rule,  ''by  well-doing  to  put  to  si- 
lence the  ignorance  of  foolish  men,"  and  so  to 
live  that  he  who  "  is  of  the  contrary  part  may 
be  ashamed,  having  no  evil  thing  to  say"  of 
him.  An  humble  walk  is  the  best  defence 
against  the  charge  of  pride. 

The  conduct  of  the  humble  man  in  times  of 
sore  judgments  is  also  noticeable.  Instead  of 
resorting  to  doubtful  expedients,  he  casts  his 
care  upon  the  Lord.  Of  this  we  have  two 
noted  examples  in  the  history  of  David.  When 
driven  from  Jerusalem,  and  cursed  by  Shimei, 
he  refused  to  avenge  the  insult  offered  him^  or 
to  permit  Abishai  to  do  it.  He  left  it  all  to 
G-od.  So  when  for  numbering  the  people  God 
was  angry,  and  sent  Gad  to  David,  and  Gad 
said,  ''Shall  seven  years  of  famine  come  unto 
thee  in  thy  land?  or  wilt  thou  flee  three  months 
before  thine  enemies,  while  they  pursue  thee  ? 
or  that  there  be  three  days'  pestilence  in  thy 
land?     Now  advise,  and  see  what  answer  I 


HUMILITY.  265 

shall  return  to  him  that  sent  me.  And  David 
said  unto  Gad,  I  am  in  a  great  strait ;  let  us 
now  fall  into  the  hand  of  the  Lord;  for  his 
mercies  are  great ;  and  let  me  not  fall  into  the 
hand  of  man."  How  wise  this  choice.  Hu- 
mility loves  to  depend  on  God,  even  when  his 
fatherly  displeasure  is  expressed  against  us. 
Famine  and  war  make  men  brutal  to  those 
around  them.  When  the  palmer-worm  and 
the  locust  and  the  caterpillar  and  the  canker- 
worm,  strong  and  without  number,  waste  the 
pleasant  fields;  when  the  heavens  glow  like 
heated  brass,  and  the  earth  is  like  iron,  and 
drought  cuts  off ''the  meat  before  our  eyes, 
and  the  seed  is  rotten  under  the  clods,  and 
the  garners  are  laid  desolate,  and  the  beasts 
groan,  and  the  herds  of  cattle  are  perplexed 
because  they  find  no  pasture,  and  the  rivers 
are  dried  up,  and  fire  devours  the  pasture  in 
the  wilderness,''  then  oftentimes  fathers  have 
no  pity  and  mothers  become  monsters.  War 
too  is  full  of  brutal  outrages,  committed  espe- 
cially by  the  cowardly.  It  is  full  of  spectacles 
of  misery  and  slaughter,  and  carries  with  it 
awful  terror.  "  Every  battle  is  with  confused 
noise,  and  garments  rolled  in  blood."  Isaiah 
9:6.     Then  at  least 

Titttl  Oodlinese.  12 


266  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

"  There  is  no  flesh  in  man's  obdurate  heart ; 
It  does  not  feel  for  man." 

The  humble  prefers  the  hand  of  God  to  that 
of  his  enemies.  He  falls  into  Jehovah's  arms. 
He  humbles  himself  under  God's  mighty  hand. 
His  strength  is  to  sit  still.  Instead  of  say- 
ing, What  have  I  ever  done  to  deserve  such 
strokes?  he  rather  says,  What  have  I  not 
done? 

The  humble  also  abase  themselves  much 
when  God  grants  them  great  prosperity  in 
their  plans.  His  mercy  humbles  them.  Thus 
David  was  greatly  affected  at  his  success  in 
collecting  treasure  for  building  the  temple, 
and  said,  "Who  am  I,  and  what  is  my  people, 
that  we  should  be  able  to  offer  so  willingly 
after  this  sort?  for  all  things  come  of  thee,  and 
of  thine  own  have  we  given  thee."  1  Chron. 
29  :  14.  So  Paul,  being  led  to  say  in  a  neces- 
sary defence,  "I  labored  more  abundantly  than 
they  all,"  instead  of  being  lifted  up  by  it,  im- 
mediately adds,  ''Yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of 
God  that  was  in  me." 

In  like  manner  the  humble  carry  them- 
selves softly  and  lowly  when  God  comes  down 
in  anger  to  afflict  their  enemies  or  the  foes  of 
his  church.     They  know  the  meaning  of  that 


HUMILITY.  267 

injunction,  ''Eejoice  not  when  thine  enemy 
falleth,  and  let  not  thy  heart  be  glad  when  he 
stumbleth;  lest  the  Lord  see  it,  and  it  dis- 
please him,  and  he  turn  away  his  wrath  from 
him.  Fret  not  thyself  because  of  evil  men, 
neither  be  thou  envious  at  the  wicked.''  Pro  v. 
24  :  17-19. 

The  ordinances  of  God's  house,  the  em- 
blems of  his  love,  the  light  of  his  countenance, 
the  presence  of  his  Spirit,  all  have  a  blessed 
effect  on  the  humble  in  making  him  bow  in 
deeper  lowliness  before  God. 

On  three  very  different  classes  of  matters 
we  are  called  to  humility. 

1.  The  first  comprehends  our  beauty, 
strength,  rank,  success,  power,  wealth.  For 
these  things  we  are  indebted  to  God.  He  is 
their  author.  His  mercy,  not  our  wisdom,  se- 
cured them  to  us.  His  kindness  granted  us 
comeliness,  health,  activity,  reputable  parent- 
age, and  all  these  things.  Yet  how  many  are 
swollen  with  pride  by  the  possession  of  even 
one  of  these  things.  Nay,  fine  clothing  and 
costly  jewels  puff  up  many.  How  seasonable 
is  the  warning  of  God:  ''Let  not  the  wise  man 
glory  in  his  wisdom,  neither  let  the  mighty 
man  glory  in  his  might,  let  not  the  rich  man 


268  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

glor}^  in  his  riches :  but  let  him  that  glorieth, 
glory  in  this,  that  he  understandeth  and  know- 
eth  me,  that  I  am  the  Lord,  which  exercise 
loving-kindness,  judgment,  and  righteousness 
in  the  earth.''  Jer.  9  :  23,  24.  Others  have 
toiled  as  hard,  studied  as  carefully,  risen  as 
early,  sat  up  as  late,  eaten  only  the  bread  of 
carefulness,  and  yet  have  not  gained  our  meas- 
ure of  success.  Oh  that  men  would  remember 
that  "promotion  cometh  neither  from  the  east, 
nor  from  the  west,  nor  from  the  south;  but 
God  is  Judge  of  all.  He  raiseth  up  one  and 
putteth  down  another."  Between  men's  best 
and  last  efforts  and  success,  there  is  always  a 
chasm  which  none  but  God  can  bridge  over. 
So  that  the  honor  of  all  is  due  to  him.  No 
man  is  the  more  base  for  being  poor,  nor  is 
any  one  more  noble  for  being  rich.  No  man 
deserves  well  because  he  has  been  successful. 
''The  race  is  not  to  the  swift,  nor  the  battle  to 
the  strong." 

2.  A  second  class  of  matters  respecting 
which  we  should  be  humble,  comprehends 
mental  qualities,  such  as  memory,  imagination, 
judgment,  wit,  logical  power,  learning,  and 
skill  as  writers  or  speakers.  In  a  free  govern- 
ment the  tenor  of  public  sentiment  opposes  the 


HUMILITY.  269 

coarser  displays  of  pride  on  account  of  birth, 
rank,  or  fortune ;.  but  then  intellectual  superi- 
ority has  unwonted  power.  Intellect  is  indeed 
never  to  be  despised.  It  is  right  that  mental 
strength  should  have  more  influence  than  men- 
tal imbecility.  Nor  does  God's  word  encour- 
age feebleness  of  intellect.  On  the  contrary, 
wherever  it  goes,  it  says,  "In  understanding 
be  ye  men."  But  it  does  forbid  us  to  be  proud 
of  any  mind  we  have.  It  also  warns  us  not  to 
boast  ourselves  of  a  false  gift,  lest  we  be  like 
clouds  and  wind  without  rain.  How  amazingly 
contented  are  the  masses  of  men  with  their 
quantum  of  intellect.  Some  indeed  complain 
of  bad  memory,  but  very  few  of  bad  judgment. 
In  a  world  full  of  ignorance  we  have  swarms 
of  teachers  and  few  scholars ;  hosts  of  instruct- 
ors and  but  few  learners,  few  readers,  few  in- 
quirers. This  is  positive  proof  that  there  is 
great  lack  of  sobriety  in  the  estimates  men 
form  of  themselves. 

It  is  a  universal  law  that  genuine  modesty 
and  humility  are  essential  to  any  great  mental 
attainments.  Lord  Bacon  says,  "The  access 
to  the  kingdom  of  man,  which  is  founded  on 
the  sciences,  resembles  that  to  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  where  no  admission  is  conceded  ex- 


270  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

cept  to  children."  Sir  Isaac  Newton  said  of 
himself  nothing  more  flattering  than  this:  ''He 
who  comes  after  me  may  by  diligence  know 
something."  Near  the  close  of  his  life  he  said, 
' '  I  stand  on  the  shore  of  the  ocean  of  know- 
ledge, and  all  I  have  been  able  to  do  was  to 
pick  up  a  few  pebbles."  This  was  in  human 
science.  In  the  history  of  the  church,  Paul 
was  preeminent  for  gigantic  powers  and  depth 
of  knowledge;  yet  how  lowly  was  he.  Listen 
to  him:  "Now  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly;" 
"Now  we  know  in  part;"  "Not  as  though  I 
had  already  attained,  either  were  already  per- 
fect ;  .  .  .  forgetting  those  things  which  are  be- 
hind, I  press  towards  the  mark  for  the  prize 
of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus." 

In  studying  God's  word,  how  little  humil- 
ity is  there,  and  consequently  how  little  suc- 
cess. John  Newton  says,  "Those  who  seek 
not  assistance  from  God,  can  find  it  nowhere 
else:  for  'every  good  gift  and  every  perfect 
gift  is  from  above,  and  cometh  down  from  the 
Father  of  lights,'  who  hath  said,  'If  any  man 
lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God.'  A  critical 
knowledge  of  the  original  languages,  a  skill  in 
the  customs  and  manners  of  the  ancients,  an  ac- 
quaintance with  the  Greek  and  Roman  classics, 


HUMILITY.  271 

a  perusal  of  councils,  fathers,  scholiasts,  and 
commentators,  a  readiness  in  the  subtleties  of 
logical  disputation — these,  in  their  proper  place 
and  subserviency,  may  be  of  considerable  use 
to  clear,  illustrate,  or  enforce  the  doctrines  of 
Scripture ;  but  unless  they  are  governed  by  a 
temper  of  humility  and  prayer  ;  unless  the 
man  that  possesses  them  accounts  them  alto- 
gether as  nothing,  without  the  assistance  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  which  is  promised  to  guide  be- 
lievers into  all  truth ;  unless  he  seeks  and  prays 
for  this  guidance  no  less  earnestly  than  those 
who  understand  nothing  but  their  mother 
tongue;  I  make  no  scruple  to  affirm,  that  all 
his  a])paratus  of  knowledge  only  tends  to  lead 
him  so  much  the  further  astray;  and  that  a 
plain,  honest  ploughman,  who  reads  no  book 
but  his  Bible,  and  has  no  teacher  but  the  God 
to  whom  he  prays  in  secret,  stands  abundantly 
fairer  for  the  attainment  of  true  skill  in  di- 
vinity." 

Charnock  says,  ' '  If  grace  be  given  to  the 
humble,  the  grace  of  the  best  knowledge  is  not 
excluded  from  God's  liberality.  We  gain  it 
sooner  by  an  humble  contemplation  than  by 
proud  wranglings.  As  to  obey  God  we  must 
deny  our  wills,  so  to  know  him  we  must  deny 


272  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

our  reasonings;  will  must  submit  to  precept,  and 
reason  to  revelation.  Agur  acknowledged  him- 
self brutish,  who  came  behind  none  of  his  age, 
unless  Solomon,  in  understanding.  Prov.  30 :  2. 
The  humble  person  will  soon  be  a  scholar  in 
this  learning,  when  a  Pharisee  shall  remain  as 
ignorant  as  he  is  proud.  God  reveals  himself 
to  babes.  Matt.  11  :  25.  The  meek  ivill  he  teach 
his  way.  Psa.  25  :  9.  As  God  knoivs  the  jproud 
afar  off,  Psa.  138:  6,  so  doth  the  proud  man 
know  God  afar  off.  .  .  .  A  proud  scholar  and 
a  dove-like  teacher  can  never  accord.'' 

In  full  agreement  with  these  sentiments, 
the  Scriptures  declare,  ''If  any  man  think  that 
he  knoweth  any  thing,  he  knoweth  nothing  yet 
as  he  ought  to  know."  How  timely  are  such 
warnings  as  these :  ''  Be  not  wise  in  thine  own 
eyes ;"  "Be  ye  not  wise  in  your  own  con- 
ceits;" "Seest  thou  a  man  wise  in  his  own 
conceit?  there  is  more  hope  of  a  fool  than  of 
him  ;"  "Woe  unto  them  that  are  wise  in  their 
own  eyes,  and  prudent  in  their  own  conceit." 
Yet  to  how  many  might  the  irony  of  Job  be 
applied:  "No  doubt  but  ye  are  the  people, 
and  wisdom  will  die  with  you."  How  many 
profess  to  see  into  things  which  they  have 
never  studied.     "The  sluggard  is  wiser  in  his 


HUMILITY.  273 

own  conceit  than  seven  men  that  can  render  a 
reason. '^  Yery  few  men  are  willing  to  know 
their  own  ignorance.  But  for  their  self-con- 
ceit, armed  with  malignity,  the  learned  scribes 
and  doctors  of  our  Saviour's  day  might  have 
become  apostles  in  knowledge.  One  has  said 
that  "hell  may  be  full  of  learned  scribes  and 
subtile  disputers,  of  eloquent  orators  and  pro- 
found philosophers,  who,  when  they  knew  God, 
glorified  him  not  as  God,  but  became  vain  in 
their  imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart  was 
darkened."  "  The  world  by  wisdom  knew  not 
God."  The  human  heart  perverts  unsanctified 
knowledge  to  the  blinding  of  the  mind  in  the 
things  of  God.  Hence  astronomers  and  anat- 
omists have  not  unfrequently  been  materialists 
and  atheists.  Some  wonder  that  two  sciences 
of  so  elevated  and  instructive  a  character 
should  lead  to  such  results.  They  do  not  thus 
affect  the  humble.  But  the  proud  pervert  ev- 
ery thing.  Accordingly  it  is  as  true  of  some 
moderns  as  of  some  ancients,  that  ''seeking  to 
become  wise,  they  became  fools."  This  self- 
conceit  makes  men  averse  to  receiving  counsel 
from  men  or  reproof  from  God.  It  makes  them 
violent  and  dogged  in  their  temper.  It  makes 
them  rash,  reckless,  officious,  insolent,  and  cen- 


274  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

sorious.  The  Bible  doctrine  is,  ''If  any  man 
among  you  seemetli  to  be  wise  in  this  world, 
let  him  become  a  fool,  that  he  may  be  wise." 
Here  God  clearly  teaches  that  humility  is  an 
ingredient  of  docility.  To  sit  at  the  feet  of 
Jesus  is  essential  to  our  solid  learning.  Will 
you  thus  humble  yourself?  Is  any  duty  more 
reasonable  ? 

3.  In  all  ages,  true  piety  has  borne  the 
same  marks.  In  like  manner  sin  exhibits  the 
same  tempers  and  tendencies  from  age  to  age. 
Self-esteem  and  self-justification  belong  to  the 
unregenerate  heart.  This  is  its  habitual  and 
prevailing  state.  Some  go  so  far  as  to  claim 
absolute  exemption  from  all  sin.  They  have 
sometimes  been  so  left  to  themselves  and  given 
up  to  believe  a  lie  as  to  declare  that  for  many 
months,  and  even  years,  they  have  not  been 
chargeable  with  one  sinful  thought,  word,  or 
deed.  The  language  of  Scripture  to  such  per- 
sons is  very  direct  and  pungent:  ''If  we  say 
that  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and 
the  truth  is  not  in  us."  A  conscience  not  seared 
as  with  a  hot  iron  must  feel  the  force  of  such  a 
declaration.  The  Old  Testament  speaks  the 
same  language  :  "  There  is  not  a  just  man  upon 
earth,  that  doeth  good,  and  sinneth  not."  Eccl. 


HUMILITY.  275 

7  :  20.  Though  you  may  be  far  from  assertmg 
that  you  are  perfect,  yet  if  you  have  never 
been  taught  of  God,  nor  humbled  at  the  foot 
of  the  cross,  you  have  an  extravagantly  good 
opinion  of  yourself  The  Bible  says,  "There 
is  a  generation  that  are  pure  in  their  own  eyes, 
yet  is  not  washed  from  their  filthiness."  Ju- 
daical  pharisaism,  with  its  broad  phylacteries 
and  street-corner  devotions  and  idle  ceremo- 
nies, you  may  not  practise ;  but  are  you  not  in 
spirit  a  Pharisee?  Is  not  the  earth  full  of 
those  who  "trust  in  themselves  that  they  are 
righteous,  and  despise  others?"  of  those  who 
say,  "Stand  by  thyself,  come  not  near  me,  I 
am  holier  than  thou?"  How  little  is  thought 
of  the  precious  blood  and  righteousness  of  Jesus 
Christ !  Traill  says,  "All  zealous,  devout  peo- 
ple in  a  natural  religion  are  enemies  to  the  gos- 
pel. By  natural  religion,  I  mean  that  which  is 
the  product  of  the  remnant  of  God's  image  in 
fallen  man,  a  little  improved  by  the  light  of 
God's  word.  All  such  cannot  endure  to  hear 
that  God's  law  must  be  perfectly  fulfilled  in 
every  tittle  of  it,  or  no  man  can  be  saved  by 
doing :  that  they  must  all  perish  for  ever  who 
have  not  the  righteousness  of  a  Man  who  never 
sinned ;  who  is  also  '  God  over  all,  blessed  for 


276  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

ever/  to  shelter  and  cover  them  from  the  an- 
ger of  a  holy  God,  and  to  render  them  accepted 
of  him :  that  his  righteousness  is  put  on  by  the 
grace  of  God,  and  a  man  must  take  himself  to 
it,  and  receive  it  as  a  naked,  blushing  sinner : 
that  no  man  can  do  any  thing  that  is  good  till 
gospel  grace  renew  him,  and  make  him  first  a 
good  man.  This  they  never  will  receive ;  but  do 
still  think  a  man  may  grow  good  by  doing  good." 

Alas  for  men !  Few  of  them  feel  themselves 
so  dreadfully  diseased  and  ruined  by  sin  as  to 
betake  themselves  to  that  fountain  of  which 
the  pool  of  Bethesda  was  but  a  type.  Hon- 
esty, truth,  and  love  require  every  messenger 
of  God  to  declare  to  his  hearers  that  they  are 
transgressors  of  the  best,  the  wisest,  the  most 
benevolent  code  of  laws  ever  enacted.  By 
this  code,  all  are  sinners,  shut  up  to  guilt  and 
wrath,  prisoners  to  eternal  justice.  No  man 
can  answer  for  one  of  a  thousand  of  his  trans- 
gressions. It  is  solely  of  God's  mercies  that 
we  are  not  all  consumed.  We  have  all  sinned 
and  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God.  If  we 
had  any  sense,  we  should  each  cry,  "Enter 
not  into  judgment  with  thy  servant,  for  in  thy 
sight  shall  no  man  living  be  justified." 

Surely  no  room  is  left  us   for  boasting. 


I 


HUMILITY.  277 

"We  are  unprofitable  servants."  ''Who  can 
say,  I  have  made  my  heart  clean ;  I  am  pure 
from  mv  sin  ?"  The  best  men  that  this  world 
has  ever  seen  have  cried  out  like  Paul,  "  I  am 
carnal,  sold  under  sin;"  or  like  Isaiah,  "Woe 
is  me,  for  I  am  a  man  of  unclean  lips  ;"  or  like 
the  publican,  ''God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sin- 
ner." How  then  dare  any  of  us  lift  up  our 
heads  in  arrogance,  and  like  those  in  whose 
skirts  blood  was  found  say,  "I  am  innocent?" 
Jer.  2 :  35  ;  or  like  the  woman  of  infamy,  "  who 
wipeth  her  mouth  and  saith,  I  have  done  no 
wickedness?"  Prov.  30:20;  or  like  fraudulent 
Ephraim,  with  the  balances  of  deceit  in  his 
hands,  "In  all  my  labors  they  shall  find  none 
iniquity  in  me  that  were  sin?"    Hos.  12  :  8. 

He  who  lacks  humility  on  the  score  of  his 
personal  sinfulness,  precludes  the  possibility  of 
improvement  in  his  spiritual  state.  "Before 
honor  is  humility."  "  God  resisteth  the  proud, 
but  giveth  grace  unto  the  humble."  Men  must 
either  part  with  their  pride  and  good  opinion 
of  themselves,  or  they  must  part  with  hope  and 
a  blessed  eternity.  Will  you  cast  yourself  ai 
the  feet  of  sovereign  mercy  ?  You  must  eitherl 
take  your  place  in  the  dust  before  God,  or  be 
cast  down  to  hell. 


278  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Nor  does  any  grace  carry  with  it  richer 
advantages  than  humility.  It  is  above  most 
things  a  means  and  a  guaranty  of  a  peaceful 
and  peaceable  life.  ''Only  by  pride  cometh 
contention."  Pro  v.  13:10.  "He  that  is  of  a 
proud  heart  stirreth  up  strife."  Prov.  28:25. 
Humility  casts  its  care  upon  the  Lord,  know- 
ing that  he  careth  for  us,  1  Pet.  6:7;  and  so 
leaves  in  his  hands  those  things  which  disquiet 
the  lives  of  so  many.  It  is  also  the  great 
means  and  guaranty  of  avoiding  self-deception. 
If  ever  men  are  puffed  up  with  delusive  no- 
tions respecting  their  virtues  or  powers,  the 
Scripture  gives  the  reason :  ''  The  pride  of  thy 
heart  hath  deceived  thee."  Obad.  3.  Humil- 
ity is  also  the  great  means  and  pledge  of  a 
tender  heart.  The  way  that  Nebuchadnezzar 
became  such  a  monster  of  wickedness  was,  that 
his  ' '  heart  was  lifted  up  and  hardened  in  pride." 
Dan.  5  :  20.  By  humility  men  avoid  much  and 
terrible  mortification,  and  final  ruin ;  for  "when 
pride  cometh,  then  cometh  shame."  Prov.  11 : 2- 
"  Pride  goeth  before  destruction,  and  a  haugh- 
ty spirit  before  a  fall."  Prov.  16:18.  "Before 
destruction,  the  heart  of  man  is  haughty."  Prov. 
18:12.  Newton  says,  "A  spirit  of  humiliation 
is  both  the  strength  and  beauty  of  our  profes- 


HUMILITY.  279 

sion.  A  broken  and  contrite  spirit  is  pleasing 
to  the  Lord;  he  has  promised  to  dwell  with 
those  who  have  it ;  and  experience  shows  that 
the  exercise  of  all  our  graces  is  in  ^proportion 
to  the  humbling  sense  we  have  of  the  deprav- 
ity of  our  nature. . .  If  we  could  receive  and 
habitually  maintain  a  right  judgment  of  our- 
selves by  what  is  plainly  maintained  in  Scrip- 
ture, it  would  probably  save  us  many  a  mourn- 
ful hour;  but  experience  is  the  Lord's  school, 
and  they  who  are  taught  by  him  usually  learn 
that  they  have  no  wisdom  by  the  mistakes  they 
make,  and  that  they  have  no  strength  by  the 
slips  and  falls  they  meet  with.'' 

John  Owen  says,  ''In  humility  alone  there 
is  safety.  '  His  soul,  which  is  lifted  up,  is  not 
upright  in  him,'  Hab.  2:4;  for  he  draws  back 
from  God,  and  Grod  hath  no  pleasure  in  him,  as 
the  apostle  expounds  these  words.  Heb.  10: 38." 

Everywhere  the  Scriptures  represent  hu- 
mility as  the  road  to  honor.  This  is  the  doc- 
trine of  both  Testaments.  "Before  honor  is 
humility.''  Prov.  15  :  33,  and  18  :  12.  ''By 
humility  and  the  fear  of  the  Lord  are  riches, 
and  honor,  and  life."  Prov.  22 : 4.  "  He  that 
humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted."  Luke 
14:11.     Not  only  does  honor  come  after  hu- 


280  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

militj,  but  ultimately  it  is  in  proportion  to  it. 
Thus  it  was  with  Joseph.  Thus  it  was  with 
Jesus,  of  whom  Joseph  was  but  a  type.  Hu- 
mility is  also  the  best  evidence  of  piety.  With- 
out it  all  other  evidences  are  useless.  A  good 
writer  says,  ''The  Christian's  temper  Grod- 
ward  is  evidenced  by  liumility.  He  has  re- 
ceived from  Gethsemane  and  Golgotha  such  a 
sense  of  the  evil  of  sin  and  of  the  holiness  of 
God,  combined  with  his  matchless  love  to  sin- 
ners, as  has  deeply  penetrated  his  heart." 
Here  too  is  the  great  secret  of  improvement. 
Would  you  gain  strength?  know  your  weak- 
ness. Would  you  gain  wisdom?  know  your 
folly.  Seneca  said,  "I  suppose  many  would 
attain  to  wisdom,  if  they  did  not  suppose  they 
had  already  attained  to  it."  If  you  would  be 
more  like  God,  know  how  little  you  are  yet 
like  him. 

Humility  is  also  the  way  to  communion 
with  God.  ''Thus  saith  the  high  and  lofty 
One  that  inhabiteth  eternity,  whose  name  is 
Holy :  I  dwell  in  the  high  and  holy  place,  with 
him  also  that  is  of  a  contrite  and  humble  spirit, 
to  revive  the  spirit  of  the  humble,  and  to  re- 
vive the  heart  of  the  contrite  ones."  Isaiah 
67:15.     And  so  it  appears  that  humility  is 


HUMILITY.  281 

essential  to  salvation.  The  Scriptures  not  only 
teach  this  incidentally,  but  explicitly.  ' '  When 
men  are  cast  down,  then  thou  shalt  say.  There 
is  lifting  up;  and  he  shall  save  the  humble 
person.'^  Job  22  :  29.  ''  Though  the  Lord  be 
high,  yet  hath  he  respect  unto  the  lowly;  but 
the  proud  he  knoweth  afar  oflP."  Psa.  138 : 6. 
If  you  would  cultivate  humility,  you  must 
acquire  self-knowledge ;  you  must  practise  self- 
inspection  ;  you  must  be  willing  to  know  the 
worst  of  your  own  case ;  you  must  settle  it  in 
your  heart  that  humility  is  a  great  good  ;  you 
must  compare  yourself  with  those  who  have 
been  brighter  examples  of  virtue  than  your- 
self, and  especially  with  our  great  exemplar 
Jesus  Christ ;  you  must  think  much  of  your  in- 
debtedness to  God's  grace — for  what  hast  thou 
that  thou  hast  not  received  ? — you  must  reflect 
on  the  odiousness  of  a  religious  character  which 
is  destitute  of  this  essential  qualification ;  you 
must  get  clear  views  of  the  law,  its  extent, 
spirituality,  and  strictness ;  you  must  get  clear 
views  of  God.  This  was  what  brought  Job 
into  the  dust:  "I  have  heard  of  thee  by  the 
hearing  of  the  ear;  but  now  mine  eye  seeth 
thee ;  wherefore  I  abhor  myself,  and  repent  in 
dust  and  ashes."    Job  42  :  5,  6. 


282  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Would  you  obtain  humility?  Ask  for  it. 
Never  adopt  the  belief  that  you  can  work  this 
or  any  other  grace  in  your  heart  without  the 
help  of  God's  Spirit.  It  was  a  good  prayer  of 
a  saint  of  former  days:  ''0  thou  who  only, 
knowest  what  I  would  do  if  I  had  health,  ease, 
and  abundance,  do  thou  in  thy  wisdom  and 
mercy  so  proportion  thy  gifts  and  restraints  as 
thou  knowest  best  for  my  soul.  If  I  be  not 
humbled  enough,  let  me  wait ;  and  so  order  all 
my  condition  that  I  may  want  any  thing  save 
thyself."  Pray  for  humility,  and  when  the 
answer  comes,  be  not  angry  that  God  has 
abased  you,  but  trust  him  with  all  your  heart. 

Take  root  downwards,  and  then  you  shall 
bear  fruit  upwards.  If  there  be  no  deepness 
of  earth,  things  will  not  grow.  If  the  founda- 
tion be  laid  on  the  surface,  the  house  will  not 
stand.  With  the  lowly  is  wisdom.  Their 
peace  is  settled.     Their  salvation  is  certain. 

This  discussion  leads  to  these  observations : 

1.  No  man  is  ultimately  the  loser  by  any 
virtue  whatever.  Nothing  is  so  self-renounc- 
ing as  humility,  yet  nothing  in  the  end  leads 
to  such  riches  and  honors  and  glories.  A 
grace  may  provoke  the  contempt,  the  envy,  or 
the  rage  of  men;  yet  what  of  that?    The  con- 


HUMILITY.  283 

tempt  of  man  is  not  to  be  compared  with  the 
derision  of  God.  And  the  worst  that  malice 
can  inflict  is  to  torture  and  kill  the  body.  It 
is  not  position,  but  worth,  that  deserves  esteem. 
*' A  diamond  fallen  into  a  dunghill  is  not  the 
less  precious;  and  the  dust,  raised  by  high 
winds  to  heaven,  is  not  the  less  vile."  It  is 
always  wise,  it  is  always  profitable  to  practise 
every  Christian  virtue.  If  present  loss  comes 
to  us  in  the  path  of  duty,  the  end  will  be  eter- 
nal gain. 

2.  The  truly  godly  need  not  fear  that  their 
pious  labors  and  sufferings  will  be  overlooked. 
They  shall  all  be  found  unto  praise  and  honor 
and  glory  at  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Their  humility  may  very  properly  lead  them 
to  put  a  low  estimate  upon  all  they  do.  But 
God  will  not  forget  their  labors  of  love.  ''The 
good  works  of  some  are  manifest  beforehand ; 
and  they  that  are  otherwise  cannot  be  hid.'' 

3.  The  praise  that  cometh  from  man  is  as 
nothing  compared  with  the  praise  that  cometh 
from  God  only.  The  barbarous  people  who 
without  evidence  pronounced  Paul  a  murderer, 
as  suddenly  and  blindly  declared  him  to  be  a 
god.  If  you  could  get  all  men  to  praise  you 
to-day,  they  would  probably  execrate  you  to- 


284  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

morrow.  But  when  God  pronounces  a  man 
blessed,  there  is  permanency,  there  is  durabil- 
ity in  it.  "The  gifts  and  calling  of  Grod  are 
without  repentance." 

4.  This  subject  furnishes  a  good  test  of  doc- 
trinal statements.  Does  a  doctrine  flatter,  or 
does  it  stain  the  pride  and  glory  of  man?  The 
answer  to  this  question,  fairly  made,  will  be  a 
safe  guide  to  a  decision  on  any  views  in  relig- 
ion Vhich  we  may  have.  If  in  the  science  of 
astronomy  the  earth  be  considered  as  the  cen- 
tre, and  the  sun  be  made  to  revolve  around  it, 
we  have  one  system,  a  system  full  of  error. 
At  every  succeeding  step  and  with  every  grow- 
ing conception,  we  get  further  and  further  from 
the  truth.  So  in  religion.  If  one  feels  himself 
to  be  the  centre  of  worth  and  importance,  and 
looks  on  others  as  ministering  to  him,  then  we 
have  one  form  of  religion,  one  code  of  practice 
which  fully  coincide  with  the  sentiments  and 
demeanor  of  Pharisees  and  fallen  angels.  But 
if  a  man  in  his  mind  and  heart  puts  Jehovah 
on  the  throne,  and  himself  in  the  dust,  then  we 
have  another  and  a  very  different  system  of 
religious  belief  and  practice.  In  all  this  is 
order,  concord,  the  right  of  divine  law,  and  a 
solid  basis  for  peace  and  obedience.     This  is 


HUMILITY.  285 

one  ingredient  of  heavenly  bliss.  There  the 
will  of  the  King,  eternal,  immortal,  and  invis- 
ible, is  received  with  shouts  of  joy.  It  was  an 
attempt  to  introduce  a  different  state  of  things 
that  constituted  the  rebellion  which  broke  out 
in  heaven,  and  led  the  Eternal  to  build  his 
prison-house  Tophet,  that  was  ordained  of  old. 
Reject  all  teachings  that  flatter  the  pride  of 
man.  A  doctrine  which  makes  you  greater 
than  the  least  of  God's  mercies  is  not  from 
heaven. 

5.  This  subject  affords  a  guide  in  the  per- 
formance of  religious  duties.  As  far  as  their 
nature  will  allow,  they  should  be  modest  and 
retiring.  "Take  heed  that  ye  do  not  your 
alms  before  men,  to  be  seen  of  them:  other- 
wise ye  have  no  reward  of  your  Father  which 
is  in  heaven.  Therefore,  wdien  thou  doest 
thine  alms,  do  not  sound  a  trumpet  before  thee, 
as  the  hypocrites  do,  in  the  synagogues,  and  in 
the  streets,  that  they  may  have  glory  of  men. 
Yerily  I  say  unto  you.  They  have  their  re- 
ward. But  when  thou  doest  thine  alms,  let 
not  thy  left  hand  know  what  thy  right  hand 
doeth  ;  that  thine  alms  may  be  in  secret :  and 
thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret,  himself  shall 
reward  thee  openly.    And  when  thou  prayest, 


286  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

thou  slialt  not  be  as  the  hypocrites  are:  for 
they  love  to  pray  standing  in  the  synagogues, 
and  in  the  corners  of  the  streets,  that  they  may 
be  seen  of  men.  Yerily  I  say  unto  you,  They 
have  their  reward.  But  thou,  when  thou  pray- 
est,  enter  into  thy  closet,  and  when  thou  hast 
shut  thy  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which  is  in 
secret ;  and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret 
shall  reward  thee  openly."  Matt.  6  : 1-6. 
Here  are  the  very  words  of  the  Son  of  God, 
delivered  in  his  first  set  discourse  to  his  disci- 
ples.    Let  them  never  be  forgotten. 


THE  FEAE  OF  GOD.  287 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  EEAR  OF  GOD. 

GtOd's  word  clearly  teaches  that  there  is  a 
fear  connate  with  true  religion.  Once  the 
Scriptures  assert  that  ' '  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is 
the  beginning  of  knowledge,"  Prov.  1:7;  and 
twice  they  say  that  ''the  fear  of  the  Lord  is 
the  beginning  of  wisdom."  Psa.  111:10,  and 
Prov.  9:10.  There  is  no  higher  wisdom  than 
to  fear  God,  as  there  is  no  true  wisdom  till  he 
is  feared.  This  is  both  alpha  and  omega  in 
wisdom.  "The  very  first,  and  indeed  the 
principal  thing,  to  be  instilled  into  all  men's 
minds,  is  a  religious  sense  of  the  divine  Maj- 
esty, and  an  awful  regard  towards  him."  With 
the  foregoing  well  agrees  the  prophet  Isaiah : 
''The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  his  treasure."  Isa. 
33  :  6. 

It  is  the  more  important  to  dwell  upon  this 
grace,  as  it  seems  not  to  be  much  spoken  of. 
Yery  seldom  is  it  a  subject  of  pulpit  discourse ; 
rarely  do  we  find  it  treated  of  at  length  in 
modern  books ;  yet  the  Bible  is  full  of  it.  Not 
only  the  Old  Testament,  but  the  New  also, 


288  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

insists  upon  reverence  and  godly  fear  as  essen- 
tial ingredients  of  Christian  character.  Per- 
haps one  reason  why  so  little  is  said  of  it  is, 
that  many  minds  are  confused  respecting  its 
qualities.  It  will  therefore  be  wise  to  seek  to 
understand  its  nature,  and  the  difference  be- 
tween it  and  all  those  kinds  of  fear  which  are 
spurious. 

Grodly  fear  does  not  at  all  consist  in  ser- 
vility and  guilty  dismay,  nor  in  mere  dread 
and  terror.  This  kind  of  fear  is  neither  holy 
nor  useful.  Indeed  it  sadly  perverts  men,  and 
fits  them  for  a  life  of  sin.  ''Fear,  if  it  have 
not  the  light  of  a  true  understanding  concern- 
ing God  wherewith  to  be  moderated,  breedeth 
superstition,"  says  Hooker. 

Godly  fear  consists  with  love.  This  is  so 
true,  that  the  more  we  fear  God,  the  more  we 
love  him ;  and  the  more  we  love  him,  the  more 
do  we  fear  him.  It  is  not  a  destroyer,  but  a 
regulator  of  other  graces.  Without  it  faith 
might  become  presumptuous,  hope  might  lose 
its  sobriety,  love  might  degenerate  into  fond- 
ness or  familiarity,  and  joy  might  become 
giddy.  But  where  the  heart  is  full  of  godly 
fear,  all  these  unhappy  results  are  avoided. 
So  far  from  agitating,  it  calms  and  quiets  the 


THE  FEAK  OF  GOD.  289 

mind.  It  seems  to  give  both  gravity  and 
cheerfulness.  It  moderates  without  depress- 
ing; it  animates  without  intoxicating.  It  is 
good  ballast  to  the  ship  in  her  passage  through 
tempestuous  seas. 

This  fear  is  a  fruit  of  God's  bounty.  It  is 
gracious.  "Let  us  have  grace,  whereby  we 
may  serve  God  acceptably,  with  reverence 
and  godly  fear."  Without  an  interest  in  God's 
favor,  we  can  never  make  so  excellent  an 
attainment.  It  is  a  saving  grace.  It  is  de- 
clared to  be  a  part  of  true  religion  in  all  dis- 
pensations. ''They  shall  fear  thee  as  long  as 
the  sun  and  moon  endure,  throughout  all  gen- 
erations.'' Psa.  72:5.  So  that  religion  with- 
out love  is  not  more  spurious  than  religion 
without  fear.  One  of  the  most  striking  fea- 
tures of  synagogue  worship  for  centuries  past 
has  been  an  evident  want  of  profound  rever- 
ence for  God  in  the  entire  manner  of  conduct- 
ing the  religious  services  of  the  Jews. 

The  basis  of  this  fear  is  found  in  the  na- 
ture, word,  and  works  of  God.  Jehovah  is 
''  the  great  and  dreadful  God."  We  must  gain 
a  knowledge  of  him.  ''As  the  justice  of  God 
and  his  anger  must  be  apprehended  before  he 
can  be  feared  slavishly,  so  the  majesty  of  God 

Vital  Gkxllinoss.  13 


290  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

and  his  goodness  must  be  understood  before 
he  can  be  feared  filially.     Who  can  stand  in 
awe  of  a  majesty  he  is  ignorant  of?     Men, 
knowing  not  God's  nature,  have  often  presum- 
ed so  much  upon  his  mercy,  that  they  have 
been  destroyed  by  his  justice.'^     Any  right 
thoughts  of  God's  amazing  purity  of  nature 
will  surely  beget  a  pious  fear  of  him.     Be- 
cause he  is  "glorious  in  holiness,"  he  is  ''fear- 
ful in  praises."     ''  As  the  approach  of  a  grave 
and  serious  man  makes  children  hasten  their 
trifles  out  of  the  way ;  so  would  the  considera- 
tion of  this  attribute  make  us  cast  away  our 
idols,  and  our  ridiculous  thoughts  and  designs.'^ 
And  not  only  God's  majesty  and  holiness,  but 
also  his  love  and  mercy  beget  a  great  fear  of 
him.     So  says  the  Psalmist,  ''  There  is  forgive- 
ness with  thee,  that  thou  mayest  be  feared." 
Psa.  130:4.     So  says  Paul,  "We  receiving  a 
kingdom,  let  us  have  grace,  whereby  we  may 
serve  God  acceptably  with  reverence  and  god- 
ly fear."     Heb.  12:28.    The  same  is  true  of 
rGod's   power   and   government.      "Thou  art 
■  great,  and  thy  name  is  great  in  might  j  who 
would  not  fear  thee,  0  King  of  nations  ?"    Jer. 
10:6,  7.    Jesus  Christ  told  us  to  fear  him  who 
had  power  to  cast  into  hell.     Luke  12:5. 


THE  FEAR  OF  GOD.  291 

In  like  manner,  to  fear  and  tremble  at 
God's  word  is  an  effect  produced  on  the  heart 
of  all  the  pious.  So  the  Scriptures  teach ;  so 
God's  people  experience.  And  how  often  does 
God  awaken  sentiments  of  fear,  not  only  by 
exhibitions  of  his  wrath  and  displays  of  his 
power,  but  by  marvellous  acts  of  his  grace  and 
mercy  towards  the  rebellious  and  perishing. 
Psa.  40 :  3 ;  Acts  2 :  43. 

There  are  some  remarkable  examples  of 
the  fear  of  God  recorded  in  Scripture.  One 
is  that  of  Moses,  mentioned  in  Heb.  12  :  21, 
where  it  is  said  that  the  giving  of  the  law  on 
mount  Sinai  produced  the  deepest  awe  and 
even  terror.  "So  terrible  was  the  sight,  that 
Moses  said,  I  exceedingly  fear  and  quake.'' 
A  similar  record  is  made  by  Isaiah:  ''In  the 
year  that  king  Uzziah  died,  I  saw  also  the 
Lord  sitting  upon  a  throne,  high  and  lifted  up, 
and  his  train  filled  the  temple.  Above  it  stood 
the  seraphim:  each  one  had  six  wings;  with 
twain  he  covered  his  face,  and  with  twain  he 
covered  his  feet,  and  with  twain  he  did  fly. 
And  one  cried  unto  another,  and  said,  Holy, 
holy,  holy  is  the  Lord  of  hosts:  the  whole 
earth  is  full  of  his  glory.  And  the  posts  of 
the  door  moved  at  the  voice  of  him  that  cried^ 


292  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

and  the  house  was  filled  with  smoke.  Then 
said  I,  Woe  is  me !  for  I  am  undone ;  because 
I  am  a  man  of  unclean  lips,  and  I  dwell  in  the 
midst  of  a  people  of  unclean  lips:  for  mine 
eyes  have  seen  the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts." 
Isa.  6:1-5. 

A  still  more  remarkable  effect,  if  possible, 
was  produced  on  the  prophet  Habakkuk  by 
an  unusual  display  of  God's  glory.  The  song 
reads  thus:  "  Grod  came  from  Teman,  and  the 
Holy  One  from  mount  Paran.  His  glory  cov- 
ered the  heavens,  and  the  earth  was  full  of  his 
praise.  And  his  brightness  was  as  the  light; 
he  had  horns  coming  out  of  his  hand :  and  there 
was  the  hiding  of  his  power.  Before  him  went 
the  pestilence,  and  burning  coals  went  forth  at 
his  feet.  He  stood,  and  measured  the  earth : 
he  beheld,  and  drove  asunder  the  nations ;  and 
the  everlasting  mountains  were  scattered,  the 
perpetual  hills  did  bow:  his  ways  are  ever- 
lasting. I  saw  the  tents  of  Cushan  in  afflic- 
tion :  and  the  curtains  of  the  land  of  Midian  did 
tremble.  Was  the  Lord  displeased  against  the 
I'ivers?  was  thine  anger  against  the  rivers? 
was  thy  wrath  against  the  sea,  that  thou  didst 
ride  upon  thy  horses,  and  thy  chariots  of  sal- 
vation ?    Thy  bow  was  made  quite  naked,  ac- 


THE  FEAE  OF  GOD.  293 

cording  to  the  oaths  of  the  tribes,  even  thy 
word.  Thou  didst  cleave  the  earth  with  riv- 
ers. The  mountains  saw  thee,  and  they  trem- 
bled :  the  overflowing  of  the  water  passed  by : 
the  deep  uttered  his  voice,  and  lifted  up  hib 
hands  on  high.  The  sun  and  moon  stood  still 
in  their  habitation :  at  the  light  of  thine  arrows 
they  went,  and  at  the  shining  of  thy  glittering 
spear.  Thou  didst  march  through  the  land  in 
indignation,  thou  didst  thresh  the  heathen  in 
anger.  Thou  wen  test  forth  for  the  salvation 
of  thy  people,  even  for  salvation  with  thine 
anointed ;  thou  woundedst  the  head  out  of  the 
house  of  the  wicked,  by  discovering  the  foun- 
dation unto  the  neck.  Thou  didst  strike  through 
with  his  staves  the  head  of  his  villages :  they 
came  out  as  a  whirlwind  to  scatter  me:  their 
rejoicing  was  as  to  devour  the  poor  secretly. 
Thou  didst  walk  through  the  sea  with  thy 
horses,  through  the  heap  of  great  waters. 
When  I  heard,  my  belly  trembled;  my  lips 
quivered  at  the  voice :  rottenness  entered  into 
my  bones,  and  I  trembled  in  myself,  that  I 
might  rest  in  the  day  of  trouble."  Habakkuk 
3  :  3-16. 

A  reason  given  by  Paul  for  serving  God 
with  reverence  and  godly  fear  is,  that  he  "is  a 


294  YITAL  GODLINESS. 

consuming  fire."  Heb.  12:28,  29.  A  very 
high  degree  of  holy  fear  is  therefore  well  found- 
ed. There  is  cause  for  adoring  reverence  for 
the  heavenly  Majesty. 

Although  there  is  not  much  said  in  modern 
"writers  respecting  the  fear  of  God,  yet  it  is 
different  with  those  who  lived  long  ago.  Thus 
says  Bishop  Hall,  ''There  is  a  fear  without 
diffidence,  and  a  treml3ling  that  may  consist 
with  joy.  Trembling  is  an  effect  of  fear,  but 
the  fear  which  we  must  cherish  is  reverential, 
not  slavish,  not  distrustful.  ...  I  will  so  dis- 
trust myself,  that  I  may  be  steadfastly  confi- 
dent in  the  God  of  my  salvation.  I  will  so 
tremble  before  the  glorious  majesty  of  my  God, 
that  I  may  not  abate  aught  of  the  joy  of  his 
never-failing  mercy."  So  also  Bishop  Hopkins 
on  the  first  commandment  says,  "Certainly  we 
cannot  have  the  Lord  for  our  God  unless  we 
supremely  fear  and  reverence  him.  Yea,  as 
the  love,  so  the  fear  of  God  is  made  the  sum  of 
all  the  commandments,  and  indeed  the  sub- 
stance of  all  religion ;  for,  although  it  be  but 
one  particular  branch  and  member  of  that  wor- 
ship and  service  which  we  owe  to  God,  yet 
it  is  such  a  remarkable  one,  and  hath  such  a 
mighty  influence  upon  all  the  rest,  that  often- 


THE  FEAR  OF  GOD.  295 

times  in  Scripture  it  is  put  for  tlie  whole." 
How  clearly  too  does  John  Bunyan  describe 
this  virtue  in  his  account  of  Mr.  Fearing.  As 
he  says,  ''No  fears,  no  grace.  Though  there 
is  not  always  grace  where  there  is  the  fear  of 
hell,  yet  to  be  sure  there  is  no  grace  where 
there  is  no  fear  of  God." 

Where  this  fear  of  God  is  genuine,  it  is  not 
an  occasional  exercise,  but  an  abiding  princi- 
ple. ''Be  thou  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  all  the 
day  long."  Prov.  23:17.  "Happy  is  the 
man  that  feareth  always."  Prov.  28 :  14. 
' '  Rejoice  with  trembling."  Psa.  2:11.  "  Pass 
the  time  of  your  sojourning  here  in  fear." 
1  Pet.  1:17.  We  are  to  "perfect  holiness  in 
the  fear  of  God."  2  Cor.  7:1.  We  are  to 
work  out  our  ' '  salvation  with  fear  and  trem- 
bling." Phil.  2:12.  When  the  Holy  Spirit 
rested  on  Christ,  it  "made  him  of  quick  under- 
standing in  the  fear  of  the  Lord."  Isa.  11 : 2,  3. 
So  that  it  is  clear  that  there  is,  there  can  be 
no  genuine  piety  without  the  fear  of  God. 

Some  one  may  ask  how  these  views  agree 
with  the  statement  of  John,  that  "there  is  no 
fear  in  love ;  but  perfect  love  casteth  out  fear, 
because  fear  hath  torment.  He  that  feareth 
is  not  made  perfect  in  love."     1  John  4:18. 


296  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

The  proper  answer  is,  that  John  is  here  speak- 
ing of  servile  fear,  which,  as  he  says,  "hath 
torment;"  whereas  we  are  speaking  of  a  fear 
which  has  no  torment.  John  Newton  says, 
"The  Lord  bids  me  'fear  not;'  and  at  the 
same  time  he  says,  'Happy  is  the  man  that 
feareth  always.'  How  to  fear  and  not  to  fear 
at  the  same  time  is,  I  believe,  one  branch  of 
that  secret  of  the  Lord  which  none  can  under- 
stand but  by  the  teaching  of  his  SiDirit.  When 
I  think  of  my  heart,  of  the  world,  of  the  pow- 
ers of  darkness,  what  cause  of  continual  fear! 
I  am  on  an  enemy's  ground,  and  cannot  move 
a  step  but  some  snare  is  spread  for  my  feet. 
But  when  I  think  of  the  person,  grace,  power, 
care,  and  faithfulness  of  my  Saviour,  why  may 
I  not  say,  I  will  trust  and  not  be  afraid,  for 
the  Lord  of  hosts  is  with  us,  the  God  of  Jacob 
is  our  refuge.  I  wish  to  be  delivered  from 
anxious  and  unbelieving  fear,  which  weakens 
the  hands  and  disquiets  the  heart.  I  wish  to 
increase  in  a  humble  jealousy  and  distrust  of 
myself  and  of  every  thing  about  me."  Char- 
nock  says,  "Men  are  apt  to  fear  a  just  recom- 
pense for  an  injury  done  to  another,  that  he 
will  do  him  one  ill  turn  for  another ;  and  fear 
is  the  mother  of  hatred.     God  being  man's 


THE    PEAK  OF  GOD.  297 

superior,  and  wronged  by  him,  there  follows 
necessarily  a  slavish  fear  of  him  and  his  power ; 
and  such  a  fear  makes  wrathful  and  imbittered 
thoughts  of  God,  while  he  considers  God  armed 
with  an  unconquerable  and  irresistible  power 
to  punish  him."  But  the  fear  which  arises  from 
just  views  of  the  whole  of  God's  character  pro- 
duces very  different  effects,  and  is  in  fact  very 
different  in  its  nature. 

The  benefits  of  godly  fear  are  many  and 
of  great  value.  It  is  the  best  preservative 
against  sinful  and  dangerous  alliances  with  the 
wicked .  ' '  Say  ye  not,  A  confederacy,  to  all  them 
to  whom  this  people  shall  say,  A  confederacy ; 
neither  fear  ye  their  fear,  nor  be  afraid.  Sanc- 
tify the  Lord  of  hosts  himself;  and  let  him  be 
your  fear,  and  let  him  be  your  dread."  Isa. 
8:12,  13.  How  many  wicked  alliances  are 
formed;  and  for  no  other  reason  than  that  men 
are  led  into  them  through  a  want  of  sterling 
religious  principle.  The  consequence  is,  mis- 
ery for  ever.  From  how  many  distressing 
entanglements  men  would  be  rescued  by  the 
fear  of  the  Lord. 

It  also  drives  away  that  fear  of  man  which 
bringeth  a  snare.  Christ  says,  ''Be  not  afraid 
of  them  that  kill  the  body,  and  after  that  have 
13* 


298  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

no  more  that  they  can  do.  But  I  will  fore- 
warn you  whom  ye  shall  fear :  Fear  Him,  which, 
after  he  hath  killed,  hath  power  to  cast  into 
hell;  yea,  I  say  unto  you.  Fear  him."  Luke 
12  :  4,  5.  Christ  himself  proposes  the  fear  of 
God  as  the  great  remedy  for  the  fear  of  man. 
Nor  is  there  any  other  that  is  found  adequate. 
But  this  is  enough.  How  justly  does  God  re- 
buke that  fear  of  man :  ' '  Who  art  thou,  that  thou 
shouldest  be  afraid  of  a  man  that  shall  die,  and 
of  the  son  of  man  which  shall  be  made  as  grass ; 
and  forgettest  the  Lord  thy  Maker,  that  hath 
stretched  forth  the  heavens,  and  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  earth ;  and  hast  feared  continually 
every  day  because  of  the  fury  of  the  oppress- 
or?" Isa.  51  ;12,  13.  It  is  not  possible  for 
us  to  fear  God  too  much,  or  man  too  little. 
And  so  sorely  as  we  have  just  conceptions  of 
the  eternal  power  and  majesty  of  God,  we 
shall  have  no  tormenting  fear  of  the  puny  arm 
of  mortals. 

The  fear  of  the  Lord  inspires  confidence  and 
boldness  in  a  righteous  cause.  That  this  is  ex- 
perienced by  all  God's  people,  has  been  illus- 
trated in  a  thousand  striking  cases  in  history, 
and  is  clearly  declared  in  Scripture.  ''  In  the 
fear  of  the  Lord  is  strong  confidence,  and  his 


THE  FEAE  OF  GOD.  299 

children  shall  have  a  place  of  refuge."     Prov. 
14;  26. 

The  fear  of  God  is  the  great  preservative 
against  sin.  Than  this,  nothing  could  be  more 
important.  ''  Keep  thyself  out  of  sin,  and  fear 
nothing."  If  we  can  resist  all  temptations  to 
sin,  and  be  pure  from  iniquity,  nothing  can 
harm  us.  This  may  be  done  by  a  proper  fear 
of  Grod.  "  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  a  fountain 
of  life,  to  depart  from  the  snares  of  death." 
Prov.  14 :  27.  The  care  of  good  men  in  all 
ages  has  been  against  sin.  And  as  their  spir- 
itual enemies  are  very  many  and-  insidious,' 
they  have  learned  to  be  much  afraid  of  that 
which  in  others  awakens  no  apprehension. 
They  are  cautious  about  little  sins,  and  their 
cry  is,  ''Take  us  the  foxes,  the  little  foxes  that 
spoil  the  vines;  for  our  vines  have  tender 
grapes."  Song  2:15.  In  ancient  vineyards 
a  tower  was  erected,  and  a  watch  set  there  for 
birds,  foxes,  and  thieves,  the  three  great  ene- 
mies of  the  vintage.  Birds  always,  and  thieves 
sometimes,  approached  vineyards  in  the  day- 
time ;  but  foxes  commonly  came  at  night. 
Larger  foxes  preyed  much  on  poultry  and  on 
smaller  animals,  but  the  young  foxes  that  ven- 
tured abroad  resorted  much  to  the  vineyards. 


300  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

This  they  did  both  day  and  night.  They  were 
numerous,  cunning,  greedy,  and  destructive. 
If  there  were  many  of  them,  they  ruined  the 
vintage.  They  did  their  work  slyly.  Great 
vigilance  was  therefore  requisite.  Some  sup- 
pose that  in  the  passage  just  quoted,  ''tender 
grapes"  represent  young  converts.  The  truth 
is  that  all  Christians,  and  especially  those  who 
have  but  little  knowledge  of  the  deceitfulness 
of  sin  and  of  the  doctrines  of  Scripture,  should 
be  ever  on  their  guard. 

But  why  should  we  give  good  heed  to  little 
things  in  the  Christian  life  ?  It  is  a  fair  ques- 
tion ;  let  it  be  answered.  Many  things  which 
seem  to  us  little  are  followed  by  the  greatest 
consequences.  One  spark  of  fire  has  kindled 
a  flame  that  burnt  a  city.  A  word  has  often 
shaped  the  course  of  an  empire,  or  determined 
the  destiny  of  a  soul.  Till  we  see  the  end  of 
a  thing,  we  cannot  tell  whether  it  is  to  be  great 
or  small  in  its  effects.  On  earth  we  see  the 
end  of  nothing  in  moral  causes.  They  are 
mighty.  They  take  hold  on  eternity.  Their 
sweep  is  everlasting.  Their  effects  are  much 
more  certain  than  those  of  natural  causes. 
They  work  incessantly.  Our  greatest  rivers 
have  their  rise  in  little  springs  whose  streams 


THE  FEAE  OF  GOD.  301 

are  often  buried  under  leaves  and  shrubs.  The 
causes  now  at  work  in  forming  men's  charac- 
ter seem  contemptible  to  many.  But  a  leak, 
though  not  larger  than  a  rye  straw,  will  sooner 
or  later  sink  a  ship.  The  smallest  opening 
made  by  a  mole  in  the  bank  of  a  canal  will  of 
itself  grow  to  a  waste  of  all  its  waters.  One 
weak  link  in  a  chain-cable  causes  the  vessel  to 
drift  on  the  rocks.  One  of  the  most  heroic 
deeds  ever  performed  was  suggested  by  the 
perseverance  of  the  ant.  A  little  white  pow- 
der or  a  drop  of  some  poisons  is  fatal  to  human 
life.  A  scratch  has  brought  on  inflammation 
that  ended  in  death.  A  glance  of  the  eye  has 
led  to  crimes  that  will  not  be  forgotten  while 
eternity  endures.  A  sentence  has  subverted 
the  labors  and  schemes  of  a  lifetime. 

The  greater  part  of  human  life  is  made  up 
of  acts  that  do  not  seem  great  in  themselves, 
but  the  whole  series  completes  the  character. 
What  is  lighter  than  a  word  ?  Yet  for  every 
idle  word  that  men  shall  speak  they  shall  give 
account  to  God.  What  is  quicker  than  thought? 
Yet  as  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he. 
As  *' sands  form  the  mountains  and  minutes 
make  the  year,"  and  as  syllables  compose  the 
web  of  the  greatest  speeches,  so  many  compar- 


302  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

atively  trivial  acts  determine  the  character. 
One  harsh  word  now,  another  an  hour  hence, 
and  so  on,  will  prove  a  man  a  churl.  A  few 
irreverent  words  scattered  along  through  a 
day  mark  a  man  as  profane.  One  stealthy 
act  of  pilfering  proves  a  man  a  thief.  He  who 
would  not  be  convicted  of  grand  larceny,  must 
avoid  petty  larceny.  He  who  would  not  defile 
his  soul  with  perjury,  must  eschew  lying.  He 
who  would  not  be  found  a  liar,  must  beware 
of  equivocation.  The  sum  of  human  character 
is  made  up  of  many  apparently  small  things. 
Every  great  stream  is  fed  by  many  lesser 
ones. 

But  what  are  the  "little  foxes?''  One 
says  they  are  worldly  thoughtb.  This  is  true. 
Another  says  they  are  wrong  opinions.  This 
is  as  true.  Another,  no  less  wisely,  says  they 
are  our  hidden  corruptions,  our  sinful  appe- 
tites and  passions,  that  destroy  our  graces  and 
comforts,  quash  good  motions,  and  crush  good 
beginnings.  When  men  fear  not  little  sins, 
they  will  soon  fall  into  presumptuous  iniqui- 
ties. When  they  are  not  conscientious  about 
minor  duties,  they  will  soon  fail  in  weightier 
matters.  He  who  cannot  walk  well,  cannot 
run  well.     Envy  is  the  forerunner  of  murder, 


THE  FEAR  OF  GOP.  308 

and  naturally  leads  to  it.  Covetousness  is  the 
fountain  of  all  theft.  As  a  grain  of  sand  will 
fret  a  sound  eye  and  make  it  weep,  so  the  least 
sin  perceived  will  tenderly  affect  a  good  con- 
science. We  must  take  and  destroy  these  lit- 
tle foxes  by  a  right  use  of  the  word  of  God. 
H  is  clear.  It  is  pure.  By  it  are  all  God's 
servants  warned.  We  must  watch  day  and 
night.  We  must  pray  frequently  and  fer- 
vently. We  must  have  the  Holy  Ghost  dwell- 
ing in  us.  We  must  make  constant  applica- 
tion to  the  blood  of  cleansing.  Above  all,  we 
must  be  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  all  the  day  long. 
Blessed  is  the  man  who  avoids  little  sins  and 
minds  little  duties ;  in  the  great  steps  of  life  he 
shall  not  be  covered  with  dishonor.  His  heart 
is  right.  God  is  with  him.  Christ  will  never 
forsake  him.  "  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  clean, 
enduring  for  ever." 

Another  benefit  flowing  from  the  fear  of 
the  Lord  is  freedom  from  worldly  anxiety. 
In  the  passage  quoted  from  Habakkuk  we  saw 
how  wonderfully  the  fear  of  God  took  posses- 
sion of  the  prophet.  In  the  words  immediately 
following  he  gives  us  that  triumphant  song: 
''Although  the  fig-tree  shall  not  blossom,  nei- 
ther shall  fruit  be  in  the  vines ;  the  labor  of  the 


304  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

olive  shall  fail,  and  the  fields  shall  yield  no 
meat ;  the  flock  shall  be  cut  off  from  the  fold, 
and  there  shall  be  no  herd  in  the  stalls :  yet  I 
will  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  I  will  joy  in  the  God 
of  my  salvation.  The  Lord  God  is  my  strength, 
and  he  will  make  my  feet  like  hinds'  feet,  and 
he  will  make  me  to  walk  upon  my  high  places?^ 
Hab.  3:17-19.  Thus  the  greatest  degree  of 
holy  trembling  was  followed  by  the  highest 
degree  of  freedom  from  carking  care  about 
temporal  affairs.  All  this  is  according  to  the 
promise,  "The  fear  of  the  Lord  tendeth  to 
life :  and  he  that  hath  it  shall  abide  satisfied ; 
he  shall  not  be  visited  with  evil."  Prov. 
19  :23. 

The  fear  of  God  also  quiets  the  afflicted 
soul,  and  hushes  all  its  agitations  on  the  bosom 
of  the  Eternal.  Thus  David  speaks:  "0  God, 
thou  hast  cast  us  off,  thou  hast  scattered  us, 
thou  hast  been  displeased ;  0  turn  thyself  to 
us  again.  Thou  hast  made  the  earth  to  trem- 
ble ;  thou  hast  broken  it :  heal  the  breaches 
thereof;  for  it  shaketh.  Thou  hast  showed 
thy  people  hard  things :  thou  hast  made  us  to 
drink  the  wine  of  astonishment."  In  the  midst 
of  all  this  distress  and  perplexity,  what  shall 
be  done?     Who  has  courage  and  strength? 


THE  FEAE  OF  GOD.  805 

The  very  next  words  are,  ''Thou  hast  given 
a  banner  to  them  that  fear  thee,  that  it  may  be 
displayed  because  of  the  truth.''    Psa.  60  :l-4. 

The  fear  of  the  Lord  also  leads  to  com- 
munion with  God.  This  is  abundantly  taught 
in  Scripture.  "  The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with 
them  that  fear  him ;  and  he  will  show  them  his 
covenant."  Psa.  25  :  14.  Again,  "The  Lord 
taketh  pleasure  in  them  that  fear  him,  in  those 
that  hope  in  his  mercy."     Psa.  147  :  11. 

The  cultivation  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is 
the  best  means  we  can  use  to  promote  and 
retain  revivals  of  genuine  religion.  Thus  Luke, 
describing  the  state  of  the  early  church,  says, 
''Then  had  the  churches  rest  throughout  all 
Judea  and  Gralilee  and  Samaria,  and  were  edi- 
fied ;  and  walking  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and 
in  the  comfort  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  were  multi- 
plied."    Acts  9  :  31. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  religion  be  not  re- 
vived, if  the  love  of  many  wax  cold,  and  wick- 
edness abound,  here  is  the  way  to  avoid  guilt 
and  to  please  God.  The  prophet  Malachi 
lived  in  times  of  unusual  and  dreadful  apostasy 
and  sin,  when  men  called  the  proud  happy, 
when  they  that  wrought  wickedness  were  set 
up,  when  they  that  tempted  God  were  even 


306  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

delivered.  Yet  he  says,  ''Then  they  that 
feared  the  Lord  spake  often  one  to  another; 
and  the  Lord  hearkened,  and  heard  it,  and  a 
book  of  remembrance  was  written  before  him 
for  them  that  feared  the  Lord,  and  that  thought  • 
upon  his  name.  And  they  shall  be  mine,  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  in  that  day  when  I  make  up 
my  jewels ;  and  I  will  spare  them  as  a  man 
spareth  his  own  son  that  serveth  him.'^  Mai. 
3:16,  17. 

In  fine,  without  the  fear  of  the  Lord  no 
service  is  acceptable,  however  decent,  how- 
ever costly,  however  painful.  But  with  the 
fear  of  God,  any  commanded  service  is  pleas- 
ing to  God,  however  poor  our  offering  may 
otherwise  be.  ''Let  us  hear  the  conclusion 
of  the  whole  matter:  Fear  God  and  keep  his 
commandments,  for  this  is  the  whole  duty  of 
man."     Eccl.  12  :  13. 


HOPE.  307 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

HOPE.  i 

With  some  it  is  common  to  speak  slight- 
ingly of  hope.  Surely  such  do  not  draw  their 
views  from  the  word  of  God,  nor  from  the  ex- 
perience of  his  people.  These  well  agree  in 
giving  it  a  high  place  among  the  Christian 
graces,  and  in  declaring  its  excellence  and 
usefulness.  "We  are  saved  by  hope.''  We 
are  rescued  from  the  fell  influences  of  despair, 
we  are  aroused  and  animated  in  our  whole 
course,  and  are  finally  made  victorious  by  the 
power  of  hope.  This  is  one  of  the  great  bands 
which  holds  together  the  church  of  God.  As 
''there  is  one  body  and  one  Spirit,  ....  one 
Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and  Fa- 
ther of  all,"  so  also  "ye  are  called  in  one  hope 
of  your  calling. '^ 

Hope  consists  of  desire  and  expectation. 
It  is  the  opposite  of  fear,  which  is  composed  of 
aversion  and  expectation.  Richard  Baxter 
says,  "Hope  is  nothing  but  a  desirous  expec- 
tation." It  is  also  the  opposite  of  despair, 
which,  though   it   desires,  does   not  expect. 


308  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

When  we  regard  any  thing  as  impossible,  we 
cannot  hope  for  it,  although  we  may  greatly 
wish  for  it.  As  to  the  general  nature  of  hope 
there  is  no  dispute. 

The  hope  of  the  Christian  is  a  longing  ex- 
pectation of  all  good  things  both  for  this  and 
the  next  world.  It  embraces  all  the  mercy, 
truth,  love,  and  faithfulness  promised  in  Scrip- 
ture. It  lays  hold  of  the  perfections  and  gov- 
ernment of  Grod  as  the  sure  foundation  of  its 
expectations.  It  has  special  reference  to  the 
person,  offices,  and  exaltation  of  the  Lord  Je- 
sus Christ.  In  Scripture  the  word  not  only 
means  the  sentiment  already  described,  but 
sometimes  it  is  used  for  the  thing  hoped  for. 
Thus  Paul  speaks  to  the  Colossians  of  ''the 
hope  which  was  laid  up  for"  them  in  heaven, 
where  he  plainly  designates  the  good  things 
hoped  for.  The  hope  of  a  Christian  relates  to 
the  whole  of  what  is  promised  in  God's  word. 
There  grace  is  promised.  And  on  every  child 
of  God  comes  the  blessing ;  ''Behold,  the  eye* 
of  the  Lord  is  upon  them  that  fear  him,  upon; 
them  that  hope  in  his  mercy."  In  like  man- 
ner hope  finds  aliment  in  all  the  divine  per- 
fections. It  looks  for  them  to  be  continually 
exercised  for  its  good.    Thus  it  expects  bread 


HOPE.  309 

and  water,  raiment  and  shelter,  guidance  and 
protection  during  life,  with  a  blessed  victory 
in  death.  It  goes  further.  Each  Christian  can 
say  as  Paul,  "I  have  hope  towards  God  .... 
that  there  shall  be  a  resurrection  of  the  dead, 
both  of  the  just  and  of  the  unjust."  Yea,  more, 
he  is  always  ''looking  for  that  blessed  hope, 
and  the  glorious  appearing  of  our  God  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ."  Yea,  more,  the  souls 
of  believers  are  sustained  "  in  hope  of  eternal 
life,  which  God,  that  cannot  lie,  promised  be- 
fore the  world  began." 

The  living  agent,  who  is  at  once  the  author 
and  object  of  pious  hope,  is  God  himself.  Ac- 
cordingly pious  men  cry  out,  ' '  Why  art  thou 
cast  down,  0  my  soul?  and  why  art  thou  dis- 
quieted within  me  ?  hope  thou  in  God :  for  I 
shall  yet  praise  him  for  the  help  of  his  counte- 
nance." One  of  the  dearest  names  by  which 
God  is  known  to  his  people  is  that  of  "The 
Hope  of  Israel,  the  Saviour  thereof  in  the  time 
of  trouble."  To  the  end  of  time  "the  Lord 
will  be  the  hope  of  his  people,  and  the  strength 
of  the"  true  Israel.  There  is  none  like  him. 
He  is  "  the  God  of  hope." 

All  genuine  Christian  hope  is  a  fruit  of  the 
mercy  of  God  to  sinners.   It  comes  from  heav- 


310  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

en,  and  not  from  men.  Yain,  carnal  hopes 
spring  up  spontaneously  in  the  human  soul. 
But  truly  pious  hopes  have  a  heavenly  origin. 
Therefore  when  Paul  would  have  the  Eomans 
abound  in  this  grace,  he  prayed,  "Now  the 
God  of  hope  fill  you  with  all  joy  and  peace  in 
believing,  that  ye  may  abound  in  hope,  through 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.'^  Rom.  15  :  13. 
God  "hath  given  us  everlasting  consolation 
and  good  hope  through  grace.''  2  Thess.  2:16. 
This  is  the  first  great  difference  between  a  true 
and  a  false  hope  in  religion.  The  former  is 
from  above  ;  the  latter  is  from  beneath.  One 
is  God-inspired ;  the  other  has  Satan  for  its 
author. 

The  second  mark  of  true  religious  hope  is, 
that  it  is  no  vain  persuasion,  no  idle  dream, 
but  a  sure  expectation.  It  rests  upon  an  im- 
movable foundation,  God's  unchanging  word 
and  oath  and  covenant.  "We  through  the 
Spirit  wait  for  the  hope  of  righteousness  by 
faith."  We  shall  not  be  disappointed.  This 
"  hope  we  have  as  an  anchor  of  the  soul,  both 
sure  and  steadfast,  and  which  entereth  into 
that  within  the  veil."  His  word  is  pledged  in 
every  form.  "I  will  be  a  God  to  thee;"  "I 
will  never  leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee;"  "Be- 


HOPE.  311 

cause  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also;"  ''Them  that 
sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him." 
These  are  but  samples  of  his  word.  To  these 
he  has  added  his  oath:  ''I  have  sworn  that  I 
would  not  be  wroth  with  thee:  for  the  mountains 
shall  depart,  and  the  hills  be  removed ;  but  my 
kindness  shall  not  depart  from  thee,  neither 
shall  the  covenant  of  my  peace  be  removed, 
saith  the  Lord  that  hath  mercy  on  thee."  Isa. 
64  :  9,  10.  Here  we  have  his  covenant  as  well 
as  his  oath.  Indeed  it  is  a  covenant  estab- 
lished upon  promises  and  oaths.  Elsewhere 
Grod  says,  "I  will  make  a  new  covenant  with 
the  house  of  Israel ;  not  according  to  the  cov- 
enant I  made  with  their  fathers,  which  my 
covenant  they  brake,  although  I  was  a  hus- 
band unto  them."  Jer.  31:31,32.  Behold  here 
are  the  sure  mercies  of  David.  God  bids  us 
rest  our  all  on  him,  and  take  his  veracity  for 
the  basis  of  all  our  hopes.  The  wicked  have 
no  such  foundation  for  their  delusive  expecta- 
tions. Their  hopes  are  all  like  a  dream  when 
one  awaketh.  They  vanish  before  the  realities 
of  life,  before  any  right  test  of  truth.  But  the 
hope  of  the  righteous  endureth.  It  is  the  an- 
chor, the  sheet-anchor.  It  holds  all  steady, 
and  enables  the  soul  to  outride  the  storms  of 


312  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

sorrow  which  God  permits  to  beat  upon  it. 
Behold  here  the  excellent  use  of  Scripture. 
*'  For  whatsoever  things  were  written  afore- 
time were  written  for  our  learning,  that  we 
through  patience  and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures 
might  have  hope."  Eom.  15  :  4.  Therefore  a 
favorite  form  of  prayer  is  that  of  pleading  the 
promises:  ''Eemember  the  word  unto  thy  ser- 
vant, upon  which  thou  hast  caused  me  to  hope." 
Psa.  119:49.  This  blessed  hope,  more  than 
most  things,  makes  Christians  helpers  of  each 
other's  faith  and  joy.  "They  that  fear  thee 
will  be  glad  when  they  see  me ;  because  I  have 
hoped  in  thy  word."     Psa.  119  :  74. 

A  third  difference  between  a  true  and  false 
hope  is,  that  the  former  is  the  fruit  of  the  me- 
diation of  Christ,  and  has  special  regard  to  him 
as  a  Eedeemer ;  while  the  latter  quite  neglects 
his  finished  work.  Many  hope  for  impunity, 
and  yet  despise  gospel  grace.  But  a  truly 
good  hope  always  has  a  chief  reliance  upon 
Christ.  Therefore  Paul  says  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  that  he  "is  our  hope."  1  Tim.  1:1. 
If  you  ever  have  a  genuine  "hope  of  glory,"  it 
must  spring  from  "Christ  in  you."  Col.  1 :  27. 
Legal  hope  is  just  the  opposite  of  evangelical. 
The  former  springs  from  supposed  personal 


HOPE  313 

obedience  to  the  law ;  the  latter  relies  upon 
Christ's  obedience  unto  death.  These  two  can- 
not agree.  You  must  look  to  Christ  exclusive- 
ly, or  not  at  all.  If  this  be  so,  some  may  ask, 
What  is  the  difference  between  faith  and  hope? 
To  this  question  the  answer  is,  that  though 
they  are  distinct,  yet  they  are  cognate  exer- 
cises of  the  mind.  Haldane  says,  ''By  faith 
we  believe  the  promises  made  to  us  by  God ; 
by  hope  we  expect  to  receive  the  good  things 
which  God  has  promised;  so  that  faith  hath 
properly  for  its  object  the  promise,  and  hope 
hath  for  its  object  the  things  promised  and  the 
execution  of  the  promise.  Faith  regards  its 
object  as  present,  but  hope  regards  it  as  future. 
Faith  precedes  hope,  and  is  its  foundation. 
We  hope  for  eternal  life,  because  we  believe 
the  promises  which  God  has  made  respecting 
it ;  and  if  we  believe  these  promises,  we  must 
expect  their  effect."  Leigh  ton  says,  "The  dif- 
ference of  these  two  graces,  faith  and  Jio^e,  is 
so  small,  that  the  one  is  often  taken  for  the 
other  in  Scripture  ;  it  is  but  a  different  aspect 
of  the  same  confidence,  faith  apprehending  the 
infallible  truth  of  those  divine  promises  of 
which  hope  doth  assuredly  expect  the  accom- 
plishment, and  that  is  their  truth ;  so  that  this 

Vltftl  Godliness.  14 


314  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

immediately  results  from  tlie  other.  This  is 
the  anchor  fixed  within  the  veil  which  keeps 
the  soul  firm  against  all  the  tossings  on  these 
swelling  seas,  and  the  winds  and  tempests  that 
arise  upon  them.  The  firmest  thing  in  this 
inferior  world  is  a  believing  soul."  But  like 
faith,  hope  admits  of  degrees,  varying  from  a 
faint  expectation,  Psa.  42  :  5,  to  a  "  full  assur- 
ance." Heb.  6  :  11.  Like  faith,  it  always 
keeps  Christ  in  view.  Like  faith,  also,  it  will 
last  until  death,  and  then  give  place  to  enjoy- 
ment ;  ' '  for  what  a  man  hath,  why  doth  he  yet 
hope  for?"  Let  us  therefore  ''hold  fast  the 
confidence,  and  the  rejoicing  of  the  hope  firm 
unto  the  end."  Heb.  3  :  6.  "Wherefore  gird 
up  the  loins  of  your  mind,  be  sober,  and  hope 
to  the  end  for  the  grace  that  is  to  be  brought 
unto  you  at  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ." 
1  Pet.  1:13. 

A  fourth  difference  between  a  true  and 
false  hope  in  religion  is,  that  the  former  is  023- 
erative,  and  produces  powerful,  happy  effects ; 
while  the  latter  is  inoperative  and  dead.  The 
hope  of  the  Christian  is  expressly  said  to  be 
"livety."  1  Pet.  1:3.  It  has  life  in  itself, 
and  communicates  animation  to  the  soul.  It 
arouses,  awakens,  and  gives  vigor  to  the  mind. 


HOPE.  315 

It  produces  the  grandest  effects,  making  the 
people  of  Grod  triumphant  over  all  their  foes 
and  fears,  and  bearing  them  up  when  all  ap- 
pearances are  discouraging.  But  a  dead  hope 
is  without  any  abiding  effect.  It  does  no  good 
in  the  day  of  trial. 

A  fifth  difference  between  a  true  and  a 
false  hope  is,  that  the  former  leads  to  holiness, 
while  the  latter  begets  carelessness.  Of  gen- 
uine Christian  hope  it  is  said,  that  "every  man 
that  hath  this  hope  in  him  purifieth  himself, 
even  as  Christ  is  pure."  1  John  3:3.  The 
stronger  it  is,  the  greater  is  the  souFs  aversion 
to  evil.  But  the  hope  of  the  deluded  makes 
him  reckless.  To  him  sin  is  a  trifle,  and  holi- 
ness a  thing  of  naught.  This  indeed  is  the 
great  difference  between  all  genuine  and  all 
spurious  hopes.  If  any  of  our  religious  affec- 
tions or  mental  exercises  do  not  tend  to  holi- 
ness, we  may  surely  know  that  they  are  not  of 
God. 

A  sixth  difference  is,  that  a  spurious  hope 
gives  no  support  when  we  most  need  help ;  but 
a  genuine  hope  bears  up  our  souls  above  all 
our  foes.  Leighton  says,  "Hope  is  the  great 
stock  of  believers.  It  is  that  which  upholds 
them  under  all  the  faintings  and  sorrows  of 


316  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

their  mind  in  this  life,  and  in  their  going 
'through  the  valley  and  shadow  of  death.' 
It  is  the  'helmet  of  their  salvation/  which, 
while  they  are  looking  over  to  eternity,  be- 
yond this  present  time,  covers  and  kee^DS  men 
head-safe  amid  all  the  darts  that  fly  around 
them;' 

According  to  God's  word,  genuine  Chris- 
tian hope  has  many  and  important  uses.  It 
does  great  things  for  the  soul. 

1.  It  makes  us  patient  in  tribulation.  ''  If 
we  hope  for  that  we  see  not,  then  do  we  with 
patience  wait  for  it.''  Accordingly  Paul  alike 
commends  in  the  Thessalonians  "the  work  of 
faith,  and  labor  of  love,  and  patience  of  hope 
in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  1  Thess.  1:3.  To 
this  happy  effect  of  this  grace  Jeremiah  refers 
when  he  says,  ''It  is  good  that  a  man  should 
both  hope  and  quietly  wait  for  the  salvation  of 
the  Lord.  It  is  good  for  a  man  that  he  bear 
the  yoke  in  his  youth.  He  sitteth  alone,  and 
keepeth  silence,  because  he  hath  borne  it  upon 
him.  He  putteth  his  mouth  in  the  dust;  if  so 
be  there  may  be  hope.''  Lam.  3  :  26-29.  All 
Scripture  and  all  experience  show,  that  through 
much  tribulation  we  must  enter  the  kingdom 
ofGrod.    We  can  purchase  no  exemption.    Pa- 


HOPE.  817 

tience  must  have  her  perfect,  work.  Patience 
is  fed  by  hope.  It  is  thus  we  are  supported 
in  trials.  What  but  this  can  give  strength  in 
the  day  of  trouble  ?  The  church  of  God  has 
often  waded  through  rivers  of  blood;  she  has 
often  been  bound  in  affliction  and  iron;  the 
fiercest  onsets  ever  made  upon  her  have  often 
threatened  something  still  worse  ;  yet  hope  has 
begotten  patience,  a  patience  that  could  not  be 
worn  out.  Despondency  is  unquiet,  dissatis- 
fied, and  full  of  pain;  but  hope  cries,  ''Be 
thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  Christ  will  give 
thee  a  crown  of  life.'' 

2.  Hope  also  gives  courage  in  facing  dan- 
ger, and  fortitude  in  enduring  pain.  "Hope 
maketh  not  ashamed ;  because  the  love  of  God 
is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
which  is  given  unto  us."  Eom.  5  : 5.  Unless 
we  have  "  for  a  helmet,  the  hope  of  salvation, '^ 
1  Thess.  5  : 8,  we  shall  but  play  the  coward  in 
the  day  of  battle.  Here  is  the  great  difference 
between  the  real  child  of  God  and  the  self- 
deceiver.  The  former  has  an  expectation  of 
future  glory  which  makes  present  ignominy  to 
be  esteemed  as  nothing.  The  latter  has  per- 
haps some  vague  hope  of  future  good,  but  he 
has  never  relinquished  his  hold  of  present 


318  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

good.  So  when  he  finds  he  must  let  go  either 
the  present  or  the  future,  he  always  cleaves  to 
the  present,  vainly  purposing  hereafter  to  seize 
upon  the  things  to  come.  Every  man  who 
knows  any  thing  at  all  of  his  own  heart,  is  pain- 
fully convinced  of  his  sad  timidity  and  wicked 
shame  as  to  all  that  is  good,  until  God  by  his 
grace  gives  him  the  hope  of  the  gospel.  In- 
deed, such  is  the  fearful  sway  of  shame  over 
many  minds,  that  some  persons  have  seemed 
to  think  that  almost  the  only  hinderance  to 
men's  salvation.  Our  blessed  Saviour  was 
not  beating  the  air  nor  giving  a  vain  warning 
when  he  said,  "Whosoever  therefore  shall  be 
ashamed  of  me  and  of  my  words  in  this  adul- 
terous and  sinful  generation ;  of  him  also  shall 
the  Son  of  man  be  ashamed  when  he  cometh 
in  the  glory  of  his  Father,  with  the  holy  an- 
gels." Mark  8  :  38.  You  will  never  be  able 
to  overcome  your  natural  shame  of  religion 
but  by  a  "good  hope  through  grace." 

3.  The  great  animating  principle  in  labor 
is  hope.  This  encourages  the  mariner,  the  hus- 
bandman, and  every  industrial  class.  This  is 
no  less  the  animating  principle  in  labors  for  the 
spread  of  the  gospel,  the  good  of  men,  and  the 
glory  of  God.     Thus  Paul  argued :  "  It  is  writ- 


HOPE.  319 

ten  in  the  law  of  Moses,  Thou  shalt  not  muzzle 
the  mouth  of  the  ox,  that  treadeth  out  the  corn. 
Doth  God  care  for  oxen  ?  Or  saith  he  it  alto- 
gether for  our  sakes  ?  For  our  sakes,  no  doubt, 
this  is  written:  that  he  that  plougheth  should 
plough  in  hope ;  and  that  he  that  thresheth  in 
hope  should  be  p^frtaker  of  his  hope."  1  Cor. 
9:9,10.  What  would  the  apostles  have  effected 
but  for  a  hope  that  entered  within  the  veil  ? 
They  had  regard  to  the  recompense  of  the  re- 
ward in  a  future  life.  God  never  puts  and 
keeps  his  people  at  work  for  him  without  ade- 
quate motives,  without  influences  suited  to  their 
nature  as  men. 

4.  Christian  hope  is  the  great  nourisher  of 
Christian  joy.  ''"We  rejoice  in  hope  of  the 
glory  of  God."  Rom.  5:2.  Our  present  cir- 
cumstances have  in  them  much  to  make  us  sad 
and  desponding.  But  hope  looks  to  the  future, 
when  the  glory  of  God  shall  be  revealed  in  us. 
So  steadfastly  does  hope  take  hold  on  what  is 
future,  that  both  Haldane  and  Hodge  propose 
to  read  the  first  clause  of  Rom.  8  :24,  ''  We 
are  saved  in  hope  f  meaning  thereby  that  we 
are  saved  in  prospect,  in  expectation.  No 
Christian  in  this  life  is  in  full  possession  of  all 
the  blessings  of  salvation.     He  has  indeed 


320  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

foretastes,  earnests,  pledges  of  good  things  to 
come,  but  not  the  very  things  themselves.  Yet 
his  title  to  eternal  life  is  good,  is  perfect.  Noth- 
ing could  be  more  so.  In  due  time  deliverance 
shall  come  in  all  its  fulness.  As  "rejoicing  in 
hope"  is  a  duty,  Eom.  12  :  12,  so  it  is  a  great 
privilege.  Charnock  says,  '"Desired  happi- 
ness affects  the  soul ;  much  more  expected  hap- 
piness. Joy  is  the  natural  issue  of  a  well- 
grounded  hope.  A  tottering  expectation  will 
engender  but  a  tottering  delight;  such  a  de- 
light will  madmen  have,  which  is  rather  to  be 
pitied  than  desired.  But  if  an  imaginary  hope 
can  affect  the  heart  with  some  real  joy,  much 
more  a  hope  settled  upon  a  sure  bottom,  and 
raised  upon  a  good  foundation ;  there  may  be 
joy  in  a  title  as  well  as  in  possession.'' 

5.  It  is  Christian  hope  that  makes  death 
easy  and  comfortable.  Grod's  people  know 
that  their  flesh  shall  rest  in  hope.  They  know 
who  it  is  that  has  said,  "  Thy  dead  men  shall 
live ;  together  with  my  dead  body  shall  they 
arise.  Awake  and  sing,  ye  that  dwell  in  dust : 
for  thy  dew  is  as  the  dew  of  herbs,  and  the 
earth  shall  cast  out  the  dead."  Isa.  26:19. 
Job  disarmed  death  of  all  his  terrors  by  being 
able  to  lay  hold  on  this  very  truth.     So  did 


HOPE.  321 

Paul  also,  and  so  have  thousands  of  the  humble 
people  of  God. 

In  short,  we  may  well  unite  with  Owen  in 
saying  that  ''hope  is  a  glorious  grace,  where- 
unto  blessed  effects  are  ascribed  in  the  Scrip- 
ture, and  an  effectual  operation  unto  the  sup- 
portment  and  consolation  of  believers.     By  it 

we  are  purified,   sanctified,  and  saved 

Where  Christ  evidenceth  his  presence  with  us, 
he  gives  us  an  infallible  hope  of  glory ;  he  gives 
us  an  assured  pledge  of  it,  and  works  our  souls 
into  an  expectation  of  it.  Hope  in  general  is 
but  an  uncertain  expectation  of  a  future  good 
which  we  desire.  But  as  it  is  a  gospel  grace, 
all  uncertainty  is  removed  from  it  which  would 
hinder  us  of  the  advantage  intended  in  it.  It 
is  an  earnest  expectation  proceeding  from  faith, 
trust,  and  confidence,  accompanied  with  long- 
ing desires  of  enjoyment.  .  .  .  The  height  of 
the  actings  of  all  grace  issues  in  a  well-ground- 
ed hope ;  nor  can  it  rise  any  higher.''  Eom. 
5  :  4,  5. 

So  that  if  what  has  been  said  be  true,  there 
is  no  force  whatever  in  the  infidel  objection 
respecting  the  want  of  certainty  as  to  eternal 
things.  They  are  as  certain  as  the  existence 
and  perfections  of  God — as  certain  as  eternal 

14* 


322  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

truth  and  justice  can  make  them.  If  our  hope 
is  weak,  it  is  yet  sure.  What  there  is  of  it  will 
never  be  disappointed.  Nay,  its  largest  expec- 
tations will  be  infinitely  more  than  realized. 
God  will  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all 
that  we  ask  or  think.  Our  hope  is  uncertain 
in  no  other  sense  than  that  it  lays  but  feeble 
hold  of  things  which  it  ought  to  seize  with  the 
utmost  tenacity.  Therefore  to  say  that  the 
Christian's  hope  is  full  of  uncertainty  is  an  un- 
truth, unless  men  simply  mean  to  say  that  the 
virtuous  j)rinciple,  even  in  good  men,  is  weak. 
This  all  good  men  confess  and  bewail. 

Nor  do  wicked  angels  and  men  offer  us  any 
thing  worth  our  attention  when  they  invite  us 
to  forego  spiritual  for  carnal  hopes,  to  give  up 
the  next  world  and  lay  fast  hold  of  this.  For 
what  is  this  mortal  life  without  the  hope  of  the 
gospel  ?  Is  any  thing  more  uncertain  ?  What 
is  more  delusive  than  worldly  hopes?  The 
conqueror  of  yesterday  is  the  prisoner  of  to- 
day ;  the  rich  man  of  to-day  is  the  beggar  of 
to-morrow.  Pleasures  bring  pains;  honors 
provoke  envy ;  and  what  is  more  malicious  or 
mischievous  than  that  ?  Riches  vex  us  while 
we  have  them,  and  may  leave  us  any  moment. 
He  who  forsakes  heavenly  for  earthly  hopes, 


HOPE.  323 

prefers  the  chaff  to  the  wheat;  he  snuffs  the 
wind,  and  delivers  himself  over  to  vanity. 

Christians  should  therefore  labor  to  be  rid 
of  all  sinful  despondency.     True,  our  frames 
change,  but  God's  nature  and  counsels  are  im- 
mutable.    Our  salvation  is  made  sure,  not  by 
our  strength,  but  by  the  strength  of  God ;  not 
by  our  goodness,  but  by  the  merits  of  the  Re- 
deemer ;  not  by  our  wisdom,  but  by  the  wis- 
dom of  God.     God  sometimes  withdraws,  that 
we  may  learn  our  utter  helplessness.     John 
Newton  says,  ''If  I  may  speak  my  own  ex- 
perience, I  find  that  to  keep  my  eye  simply 
upon  Christ  as  my  jpeace  and  my  life^  is  by  far 
the  hardest  part  of  my  calling.    Through  mer- 
cy he  enables  me  to  avoid  what  is  wrong  in  the 
sight  of  men ;  but  it  seems  easier  to  deny  self 
in  a  thousand  instances  of  outward  conduct 
than  in  its  ceaseless  endeavors  to  act  as  a 
principle  of  righteousness  and  power."    Yet  to 
yield  in  this  point  is  ultimately  to  sink  into 
despondency.    All  good  and  lively  and  endur- 
ing hope  springs  from  the  cross  alone.     ''Let 
Israel  hope  in  the  Lord:  for  with  the  Lord 
there  is  mercy,  and  with  him  is  plenteous  re- 
demption."    Psa.  130:7. 

And  how  rich  an  inheritance  have  all  the 


324  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

saints  in  God.     He  is  their  hope  and  their 
portion,  their  refuge  and  the  rock  of  their  in- 
heritance.    Bishop  Hall  said,  "0  my  God,  I 
shall  not  be  worthy  of  my  eyes  if  I  think  I  can 
employ  them  better  than  in  looking  up  to  thy 
heaven ;  and  I  shall  not  be  worthy  to  look  up 
to  heaven  if  I  suffer  my  eyes  to  rest  there,  and 
not  look  through  heaven  to  thee,  the  almighty 
Maker  and  Ruler  of  it,  who  dwellest  there  in 
all  glory  and  majesty ;  and  if,  seeing  thee,  I  do 
not  always  adore  thee,  and  find  my  soul  taken 
up  with  awful  and  admiring  thoughts  concern- 
ing thee.  .  .  .     While  others  look  at  the  mo- 
tions, let  me  look  at  the  Mover,  and  adore  that 
infinite   power   and   wisdom  which   preserve 
those  numberless  and  immense  bodies  in  such 
perfect  regularity."    While  others  grow  wiser, 
let  us  grow  more  holy.     While  they  trust  in 
the  creature,  and  make  flesh  their  arm,  let  us 
set  our  faith  and  hope  in  God.     Let  us  think 
upon  his  name.     If  we  are  really  his,  we  shall 
ever  be  with  him.    You  cannot  dwell  too  much 
on  future  glory.     Nor  can  you  overestimate 
the  value  of  your  future  inheritance.     It  is 
worth  ten  thousand  worlds.      It  is  worth  a 
thousand  times  more  than  any  man  ever  en- 
dured for  it.     Men  of  the  world  often  congrat- 


HOPE.  325 

ulate  each  other  on  their  prospects.  But  Chris- 
tians may  well  give  each  other  joy  in  view  of 
their  bright  future,  their  sure  and  certain 
hopes.  ''Hope,  like  a  star  in  the  firmament, 
shines  the  brighter  as  the  shadows  of  sorrow 
darken.  A  new  view  opens  to  us.  We  live 
in  the  prospect  of  another  and  a  happier 
world,"  says  Dr.  John  James.  A  poet  well 
describes  this  grace  when  he  says, 

"Hope,  like  a  cordial,  innocent  tliougli  strong, 
Man's  heart  at  once  inspirits  and  serenes, 
Nor  igiakes  liim  pay  his  wisdom  for  his  joys." 

How  dismal  are  the  prospects  of  the  poor 
guilty  sinner!  Scripture  describes  such  as 
''without  Christ,  being  aliens  from  the  common- 
wealth of  Israel,  and  strangers  from  the  cove- 
nants of  promise,  having  no  hope,  and  without 
God  in  the  world."  Eph.  2  :  12.  Could  more 
dreadful  destitution  exist?  The  question  has 
sometimes  been  raised.  What  will  be  the  in- 
gredients of  future  misery  ?  No  man  may  be 
able  to  give  a  full  answer.  But  it  is  certain 
that  a  poor  soul,  as  destitute  as  sinners  are 
here,  and  then  shut  out  from  all  that  now  ren- 
ders existence  tolerable,  must  be  dreadfully 
and  eternally  undone.  "The  day  cometh" — 
Oh  how  soon  it  will  be  here!— which  "shall 


326  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

burn  as  an  oven,  and  all  the  proud,  yea,  and 
all  that  do  wickedly,  shall  be  stubble,  and  the 
day  that  cometh  shall  burn  them  up,  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  that  it  shall  leave  them  neither 
root  nor  branch."  And  as  the  wicked  die 
without  hope,  without  Christ,  without  God,  so 
shall  they  continue  without  them  for  ever. 

Unconverted  sinner,   ask  thy  soul  a  few 
questions  of  great  weight. 

1.  What  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  gain  the 
whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ? 

2.  Did  ever  any  harden  himself  Against  the 
Lord,  and  prosper  ? 

3.  Can  thy  hands  be  strong,  or  thy  heart 
endure,  when  he  shall  deal  with  thee  ? 

4.  What  wilt  thou  answer  when  he  shall 
punish  thee? 

5.  How  can  you  escape,  if  you  neglect  so 
great  salvation  ? 


LOVE  TO  GOD.  327 

CHAPTER  XY. 

LOVE  TO  GOD. 

That  love  to  God  is  a  pressing  duty  is 
manifest  from  all  the  Scriptures.  By  Moses 
Grod  said,  ''Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and 
with  all  thy  might.''  Deut.  6:5.  ''And  now, 
Israel,  what  doth  the  Lord  thy  God  require  of 
thee,  but  to  fear  the  Lord  thy  God,  to  walk  in 
all  his  ways,  and  to  love  him,  and  to  serve  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart  and  with  all 
thy  soul  ?"  Deut.  10  :  12.  "  Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God,  and  keep  his  charge,  and 
his  statutes,  and  his  judgments,  and  his  com- 
mandments, alway."  Deut.  11:1.  "It  shall 
come  to  pass,  if  ye  shall  hearken  diligently  unto 
my  commandments  which  I  command  you  this 
day,  to  love  the  Lord  your  God,  and  to  serve 
him  with  all  your  heart  and  with  all  your  soul, 
that  I  will  give  you  the  rain  of  your  land  in  his 
due  season."  Deut.  11  :  13.  "If  ye  shall  dil- 
igently keep  all  these  commandments  which  I 
command  you,  to  do  them,  to  love  the  Lord 
your  God,  to  walk  in  all  his  ways,  and  to  cleave 


328  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

unto  him;  then  will  the  Lord  drive  out  all 
these  nations  from  before  you.''  Deut.  11 :  22. 
''If  thou  shalt  keep  all  these  commandments 
to  do  them,  which  I  command  thee  this  day,  to 
love  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  to  walk  ever  in  his 
ways ;  then  shalt  thou  add  three  cities  more  for 
thee."  Deut.  19  :  9.  ''  The  Lord  thy  God  will 
circumcise  thy  heart,  and  the  heart  of  thy  seed, 
to  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart, 
and  with  all  thy  soul,  that  thou  mayest  live." 
Deut.  30:6.  Again,  "Know  therefore  that 
the  Lord  thy  God,  he  is  God,  the  faithful  God, 
which  keepeth  covenant  and  mercy  with  them 
that  love  him  and  keep  his  commandments  to 
a  thousand  generations."  Deut.  7  :  9.  The 
same  duty  is  clearly  and  repeatedly  urged  in 
other  parts  of  the  same  book. 

Thus  it  appears  that  in  his  early  revela- 
tions, love  to  God  was  greatly  insisted  on  as  a 
high  duty ;  that  its  nature  was  well  explained ; 
that  men  were  taught  that  it  well  agreed  with 
fear ;  that  it  always  produced  the  fruit  of  obe- 
dience ;  that  great  blessings,  temporal  and  spir- 
itual, were  connected  with  it ;  and  that  it  was 
one  of  the  promises  of  the  covenant  that  God 
would  implant  this  grace  in  the  hearts  of  his 
people. 


LOVE  TO  GOD.  829 

When  our  Saviour  came,  he  dwelt  much  on 
the  love  of  God,  declared  it  the  greatest  and 
first  duty  of  men,  essential  to  true  religion,  and 
incapable  of  being  substituted  by  outward  ob- 
servances. His  apostles  taught  the  same  doc- 
trine. 

It  may  be  well  to  observe  that  love  to  God 
includes  the  three  Persons  of  the  Trinity. 
Love  to  the  Father  is  not  different  from  love 
to  the  Son  or  to  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  each 
case  it  is  the  same.  He  who  loves  him  that 
begat,  also  loves  him  that  was  begotten  of  him. 
He  who  loves  the  Son  loves  the  Father,  for  he 
and  the  Father  are  one.  One  person  of  the 
Trinity  is  no  less  lovely  than  another.  All 
the  persons  of  the  Godhead  are  the  same  in 
substance  and  in  attributes,  though  having  dif- 
ferent ofl&ces  in  man's  salvation.  Love  to  either 
person  is  love  to  God.  Love  to  God  is  love 
to  all  the  persons  of  the  Godhead.  Let  this 
view  be  retained  in  mind.  It  will  prevent 
many  painful  and  perplexing  doubts  respect- 
ing our  duty.  He  who  honors  the  Son,  honors 
the  Father  and  the  Spirit.  He  who  loves  the 
Spirit  is  sure  to  love  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

It  should  be  stated  that  love  to  God  is 
sometimes  spoken  of  in  Scripture  as  properly 


330  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

expressive  of  an  affection  of  the  mind,  and 
sometimes  it  is  used  figuratively  as  a  fit  term 
to  designate  the  whole  of  religion,  or  all  the 
fruits  of  genuine  love  to  God.  In  most  cases 
there  is  little  dif&culty  in  learning  the  precise 
sense  in  which  it  is  to  be  taken.  Nor  is  this 
variation  in  the  sense  of  a  term  confined  to  the 
word  love,  nor  to  the  modes  of  speaking  adopt- 
ed by  the  inspired  writers.  Several  of  the 
Christian  graces  are  spoken  of  in  the  same 
way  in  Scripture.  And  in  all  the  best  writ- 
ers of  our  language  a  part  is  often  put  for  the 
whole. 

It  is  also  proper  to  say  that  the  phrase,  the 
love  of  God,  as  used  in  Scripture,  has  two 
senses.  Sometimes  it  expresses  our  love  to 
Grod.  Thus  our  Saviour  said,  "Woe  unto 
you,  Pharisees!  for  ye  tithe  mint  and  rue  and 
all  manner  of  herbs,  and  pass  over  judgment 
and  the  love  of  God."  Luke  11 :  42.  Again, 
*'I  know  you,  that  ye  have  not  the  love  of  God 
in  you."  John  5  :  42.  In  like  manner  Paul 
says,  ''Hope  maketh  not  ashamed ;  because  the 
love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  given  unto  us."  Eom. 
5  :  5.  John  also  says,  ''This  is  the  love  of  God, 
that  we  keep  his  commandments."  1  John  5 :  3. 


LOVE  TO  GOD.  331 

In  like  manner  Jude  says,  ''Keep  yourselves 
in  the  love  of  God."  Jude  21.  In  all  these 
and  many  other  places,  by  ''  the  love  of  God," 
is  to  be  understood  love  to  God. 

But  in  the  following  texts,  ''the  love  of 
God"  means  God's  love  to  us.  "Nor  height, 
nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be 
able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God, 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."  Rom. 
8:39.  "God  commendeth  his  love  toward 
us,  in  that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ 
died  for  us."  Eom.  5  : 8.  The  same  sense 
attaches  to  the  phrase  elsewhere.  But  this 
variation  produces  no  confusion.  The  import 
in  any  one  passage  of  Scripture  is  clear.  We 
have  just  the  same  form  of  speech  when  we 
discourse  of  the  love  of  a  father  or  mother, 
where  we  may  either  intend  the  love  of  a  par- 
ent to  a  child,  or  that  of  a  child  to  a  parent. 

Love  to  God  is  commonly  spoken  of  under 
three  distinctions. 

1.  There  is  the  love  of  gratitude.  As  in- 
gratitude is  one  of  the  basest  vices,  embracing 
almost  all  others,  so  gratitude  is  one  of  the 
noblest  virtues,  and  is  never  found  but  with 
many  others  in  its  train.  The  judgment  of 
mankind   fully  sustains  this  view.      A  cele- 


332  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

bratecl  writer  says,  "He  that  calls  a  man  un- 
grateful, sums  up  all  the  evil  that  a  man  can 
be  guilty  of.''  Yet  how  common  is  this  vice. 
Seneca  says,  "If  it  were  actionable,  there 
would  not  be  courts  enough  in  the  whole  world 
to  try  the  cases  in."  On  the  other  hand,  grat- 
itude is  a  noble  virtue.  It  carries  much  that 
is  just  and  amiable  with  it.  A  deaf  mute  is 
said  to  have  defined  it  to  be  "  the  memory  of 
the  heart."  It  is  wonderful  that  some  refin- 
ing philosophers  and  divines,  who  have  been 
thought  very  fond  of  distinctions,  even  where 
there  was  no  difference,  have  not  been  able  to 
discriminate  between  love  to  the  gift  and  love 
to  the  giver,  and  so  have  made  gratitude  a 
sordid  affection.  This  is  the  more  marvellous 
in  theologians,  as  the  Bible  always  speaks  well 
of  gratitude  to  God.  If  this  be  not  so,  we  have 
no  safe  rule  for  interpreting  such  texts  as  the 
following:  "We  love  him,  because  he  first 
loved  us."  .  "I  love  the  Lord  because  he  hath 
heard  my  voice  and  my  supplications.  Be- 
cause he  hath  inclined  his  ear  unto  me,  there- 
fore will  I  call  upon  him  as  long  as  I  live." 
"Her  sins,  which  are  many,  are  forgiven;  for 
she  loved  much :  but  to  whom  little  is  forgiven, 
the  same  loveth  little."    He  who  loves  God  as 


LOVE  TO  GOD.  333 

David,  Mary,  and  John,  has  the  genuine  affec- 
tion demanded  by  the  word  of  God.  There  is 
on  earth  no  love  to  God  without  warm  and 
lively  gratitude.  The  unconverted  rejoice  in 
the  gifts  of  God,  and  often  pervert  them  to 
their  carnal  gratifications.  Such  have  no  gen- 
uine holy  gratitude.  They  even  despise  his 
chief  gifts,  his  unspeakable  gift,  his  Son,  and 
his  precious  gift  of  the  Spirit.  Holy  gratitude 
would  never  leave  men  to  such  daring  wicked- 
ness. It  would  mightily  draw  them  to  God. 
Alas  for  us :  "  We  inscribe  our  afflictions  upon 
a  rock,  and  the  characters  remain ;  we  write 
our  mercies  in  the  sand  of  the  sea-shore,  and 
the  first  wave  of  trouble  washes  them  out."* 

2.  There  is  the  love  of  complacency.  This 
consists  in  delight  in  the  character  of  him  whom 
we  Jove.  The  entire  nature  and  perfections  of 
God  are  amiable  and  admirable.  Mere  power, 
separated  from  wisdom  and  goodness,  is  not 
amiable,  though  it  may  be  wonderful.  But  we 
never  separate  God's  attributes,  though  we  dis- 
tinguish between  them.  Infinite  power,  guided 
by  infinite  love  and  infinite  skill,  is  a  rock  of 
delight.  That  was  a  great  revelation  to  the 
patriarch,  "I  am  the  Almighty  God.''     In  it 

*  Jay. 


334  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

the  saints  have  ever  since  rejoiced.  To  a 
wicked  man  the  omniscience  of  God  is  a  source 
of  terror  and  aversion.  To  him  who  loves 
God  it  is  a  fountain  of  delight.  He  heartily 
invokes  the  scrutiny  of  him  who  knows  all 
hearts.  He  cries,  "Search  me,  0  God,  and 
know  my  heart :  try  me,  and  know  my  thoughts, 
and  see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me." 
So  that  those  who  love  God  delight  even  in 
his  natural  attributes.  Without  these  he 
would  be  no  God  to  them.  Yet  the  moral 
perfections  of  God  are  special  objects  of  direct 
complacency.  All  the  saints  delight  in  that 
proclamation  which  Jehovah  made  of  himself 
to  Moses:  ''The  Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful 
and  gracious,  long-suffering  and  abundant  in 
goodness  and  truth,  keej^ing  mercy  for  thou- 
sands, forgiving  iniquity  and  transgression  und 
sin,  and  that  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guil- 
t}^"  No  regenerate  person  would  think  the 
character  here  drawn  improved  by  the  omis- 
sion of  a  single  trait.  All  is  lovely.  This  love 
of  complacency  in  God  is  mighty  in  its  power. 
Show  me  a  child  of  God,  and  I  will  show  you 
one  who  loves  to  sing,  ''Whom  have  I  in 
heaven  but  thee?  and  there  is  none  upon  earth 
that  I  desire  besides  thee."   The  highest  point 


LOVE  TO  GOD.  335 

of  holy  delight  in  the  character  of  Grod  is 
reached  when  his  glorious  attributes  are  seen 
harmoniously  uniting  in  the  production  of  some 
vast  and  happy  result.  This  is  a  chief  part  of 
our  pleasure  in  contemplating  the  plan  of  sal- 
vation. There  mercy  and  truth,  righteousness 
and  peace,  wisdom  and  power,  goodness  and 
severity,  wrath  and  love,  strangely  and  illus- 
triously meet  and  embrace  each  other.  They 
unitedly  produce  glory  to  God  in  the  highest, 
and  at  the  same  time  peace  on  earth,  good- will 
to  men.  This  scheme  will  form  a  perpetual 
study  to  men  and  angels.  I  am  not  surprised 
that  angels  desire  to  look  into  it.  I  wonder 
not  that  heaven  is  filled  with  thundering  halle- 
lujahs to  Grod  and  the  Lamb  for  ever  and  ever. 
In  this  plan  of  mercy,  as  in  a  lens,  all  the  rays 
of  the  divine  glory  meet.  Yet  their  brightness 
may  be  endured.  The  flesh  of  the  Son  of  God 
is  a  veil  which  hinders  the  radiance  from  be- 
ing intolerable.  Yet  on  earth  he  was  seen 
"  full  of  grace  and  truth."  "  The  fulness  of  the 
Godhead'^  dwelt  in  him  bodily.  The  great 
attraction  of  the  moral  law  is,  that  it  is  a  copy 
of  God's  character.  The  great  source  of  pious 
delight  in  Scripture  is,  that  it  is  the  word  of 
God.     Creation  and  providence  are  never  so 


336  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

exalted  themes  of  delightful  contemplation  as 
when  we  most  fully  regard  them  as  the  results 
of  God's  matchless  excellence.  Redemption 
gets  all  its  glories  here. 

3.  There  is  also  the  love  of  good- will.  It 
manifests  itself  in  pity  to  the  miserable,  in 
forgiveness  to  the  injurious,  in  compassion  to 
the  weak,  in  pleasure  at  the  good  estate  of 
those  whom  we  love.  God  is  infinitely  above 
us,  and  never  needs  our  compassion.  Even 
Jesus  Christ,  the  sufferings  of  whose  human 
nature  once  held  the  inanimate  creation  in 
strange  sympathy,  suffers  no  more.  He  has 
overcome,  and  is  set  down  on  his  throne.  He 
was  dead,  but  he  is  alive  for  evermore.  God 
is  holy,  and  has  done  us  no  wrong.  We  may 
in  our  pride  complain  of  him,  and  dream  of 
forgiving  him ;  but  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth 
makes  no  mistakes,  and  is  never  unkind  or  un- 
just. Neither  is  Jehovah  accountable  to  us. 
We  cannot  without  presumption  revise  his  de- 
cisions, or  find  fault  with  his  judgments.  Though 
we  greatly  need  forgiveness  from  him,  he  has 
no  need  of  ours.  Nor  can  we  be  profitable 
unto  God,  as  he  that  is  wise  may  be  profitable 
unto  himself,  or  as  he  that  is  kind  may  be 
advantageous  to  his  friend.     It  is  no  gain  to 


LOVE  TO  GOD.  337 

the  Almiglity  that  we  cleanse  our  ways.  But 
we  can  evince  our  good-will  to  those  who  are 
quite  beyond  the  need  of  our  aid.  Towards 
God  we  can  manifest  it  in  many  wa^^s.  We 
can  show  benevolence  to  his  people,  especially 
those  of  them  who  are  greatly  afflicted.  In- 
deed, he  has  constituted  them  the  receivers  of 
our  bounty  in  his  place.  Whatsoever  is  done 
to  them  is  done  to  him.  We  can  show  our 
good- will  towards  God  by  honoring  him,  by 
rejoicing  in  the  worship  which  others  render 
to  him,  and  by  delighting  in  the  advancement 
of  his  glory.  This  love  is  the  great  animating 
principle  in  heartily  praying,  "Hallowed  be 
thy  name:  thy  kingdom  come;  thy  will  be 
done  in  earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven."  This 
love  is  wonderful,  passing  the  love  of  woman. 
It  fills  the  heart  with  all  gladness  when  God 
is  glori&ed  and  his  name  exalted. 

Though  we  thus  distinguish  the  acts  of 
love,  yet  they  are  all  performed  by  the  same 
person.  They  all  proceed  from  the  same  pious 
affection.  In  many  respects  they  all  agree. 
They  all  strengthen  a  gracious  character.  All 
love  to  God  has  for  its  object  the  same  Being, 
the  Three  in  One,  Him  who  is  infinite,  eternal, 
unchangeable  in  his  wisdom,  power,  holiness, 

VtUl  Qocnin«««.  1 5 


338  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

justice,  goodness,  and  truth.  All  the  exercises 
of  love  are  refreshing.  They  awaken  not  pain- 
ful emotions.  All  the  kindly  affections  pro- 
duce pleasant  effects.  Whoever  enjoys  the 
luxury  of  having  his  heart  drawn  out  to  God 
in  gratitude,  complacency,  or  good-will,  would 
fain  continue  in  that  state  always. 

It  is  not  of  the  nature  of  true  love  to  God 
to  count  the  cost,  or  to  make  much  of  its  ser- 
vices. Even  as  Jacob  served  seven  years  for 
Eachel,  and  they  seemed  to  him  but  a  few 
days  for  the  love  he  had  to  her;  so  the  true 
friend  of  God  is  sustained  through  a  life  of  trial 
and  sorrow  b}"  his  love  to  God. 

''While  duty  portions  out  the  debt  it  owes 
With  scrupulous  xDrecision  and  nice  justice, 
Love  never  measures,  but  i^rofusely  gives ; 
Gives,  like  a  thoughtless  prodigal,  its  all, 
And  trembles  tlien,  lest  it  has  done  too  little." 

True  love  is  not  selfish,  cold,  and  calculat- 
ing. "  Charity  seeketh  not  her  own."  "  Great- 
er love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay 
down  his  life  for  his  friends."  Here  was  the 
soul  of  martyrdom.  The  labors  of  love  would 
be  impossible,  if  they  sprang  from  any  other 
principle.  Because  they  are  the  fruit  of  love, 
they  are  esteemed  as  nothing. 

Where  the  love  of  complacency  exists,  there 


LOVE  TO  GOD.  339 

will  be  a  desire  to  be  like  the  object  beloved. 
No  praise  is  so  great  as  that  which  we  render 
by  imitating  another.  Therefore  all  who  de- 
light in  Grod  do  hunger  and  thirst  after  right- 
eousness, and  are  wholly  pleased  with  God's 
law,  and  are  deeply  pained  when  they  find 
their  hearts  inclined  to  corruption.  They  nev- 
er will  be  satisfied  till  they  awake  in  Grod's  like- 
ness.    To  be  like  him  is  their  highest  aim. 

Those  who  love  desire  also  to  please  God. 
This  is  very  natural.  Above  all  things,  the 
righteous  wish  to  please  God.  His  will  is  their 
law.     His  favor  is  their  life.    His  smile  is  their 

joy- 
Love  to  God  is  a  powerful  principle.  It 
becomes  the  master-passion.  It  is  ''strong  as 
death."  ''Many  waters  cannot  quench  love, 
neither  can  the  floods  drown  it :  if  a  man  would 
give  all  the  substance  of  his  house  for  love,  it 
would  utterly  be  contemned."  Love  roused 
and  sustained  Paul  in  all  his  toils  and  suiffer- 
ings.  It  made  the  confessors  take  joyfully  the 
spoiling  of  their  goods.  It  has  made  heroes  of 
babes,  and  martyrs  of  the  most  timid.  No 
principle  of  human  action  is  more  efficient. 

It  is  indeed  not  always  of  the  same  strength. 
Some  love  so  little  that  they  are  constantly 


340  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

kept  in  doubt  about  their  state,  and  are  uncer- 
tain whether  they  love  at  all.  In  some,  love 
is  but  a  spark  with  some  smoke.  In  others  it 
is  a  strong,  steady  flame.  If  genuine,  it  will 
finally  gain  the  victory  over  all  opposing  influ- 
ences. It  grows,  so  that  in  due  time  it  sways 
every  power  of  the  mind,  every  inclination  of 
the  heart. 

Love  to  God  promotes  the  happiness  of  all 
whose  hearts  it  rules.  Believers  know  what 
Paul  means  by  ''the  comfort  of  love."  "He 
that  dwelleth  in  love  dwelleth  in  God,  and  God 
in  him."  Solomon  says,  ''Better  is  a  dinner 
of  herbs  where  love  is,  than  a  stalled  ox,  and 
hatred  therewith."  This  he  speaks  of  love  in 
a  family.  But  how  much  more  true  is  it  of  the 
love  of  God.  It  turns  all  bitter  into  sweet,  con- 
verts all  sorrow  into  joy.  ' '  All  things  work 
together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God."  Nor 
is  our  love  to  God  a  well-spring  of  life  merely 
to  the  living:  it  wonderfully  cheers  and  ani- 
mates the  dying,  and  keeps  the  best  of  them  in 
a  delightful  strait.  It  makes  them  triumph  over 
death.  It  goes  still  further:  "Herein,"  says 
John,  "is  our  love  made  perfect,  that  we  may 
have  boldness  in  the  day  of  judgment."  Of 
all  things  promised  by  God,  nothing  has  sur- 


LOVE  TO  GOD.  341 

prised  me  more  than  this.  Oh  wonderful,  won- 
derful love,  to  give  "boldness  in  the  day  of 
judgment." 

True  love  seeks  union  and  communion. 
' '  How  can  we  expect  to  live  with  God  in  heav- 
en, if  we  love  not  to  live  with  him  on  earth  ?" 
Aversion  puts  away  its  object,  or  withdraws 
from  it;  but  love  draws  near  its  object,  and 
rejoices  to  know  and  be  known.  Those  who 
love  God  are  looking  for  and  hasting  unto  the 
coming  of  the  day  of  God.  They  wait  for  him 
as  the  watchmen  wait  for  the  morning ;  as  the 
thirsty  land  waits  for  the  rain.  He  is  their 
life.  His  coming  will  be  their  coronation-day. 
After  that  they  shall  be  for  ever  with  the  Lord. 
Christ  is  the  loadstone  that  lifts  up  their  hearts 
to  God.  To  be  with  him  and  to  behold  his 
glory  will  be  the  grand  reward.  But  even  in 
this  life,  the  soul,  by  means  of  faith  in  God's 
word  and  through  the  agency  of  the  blessed 
Spirit,  has  sweet  communion  with  God.  In 
this  it  greatly  joys. 

Paul  offered  a  very  benevolent  prayer  when 
he  asked  that  his  brethren  at  Philippi  might 
"  abound  in  love  more  and  more."  Love  is  a 
chief  fruit  of  the  Spirit.  It  is  greater  tlian 
faith  or  hope.     It  shall  last  and  increase  for 


342  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

ever.  No  wonder  Jude,  in  tlie  warmth  of  his 
affection  for  God's  cliildren,  cried,  "Keep 
yourselves  in  the  love  of  Grod."  This  is  the 
great  business  of  the  Christian.  He  who  does 
this  acts  well  his  part.  He  who  keeps  himself 
in  the  love  of  God  needs  to  know  no  other 
secret  of  happiness. 

The  qualities  of  the  love  which  God  re- 
quires are, 

1.  That  it  be  sincere,  not  feigned,  not  in 
pretence.  Here  is  the  point  where  sad  defi- 
ciency is  found  in  the  love  of  many.  It  is  not 
hearty.     Its  professions  are  mere  pretences. 

2.  Genuine  love  to  God  is  supreme.  It 
puts  him  before  and  above  all  others.  It  ad- 
mits of  no  rivals  in  the  heart.  It  does  not 
hesitate  to  prefer  him  to  every  other  object. 
Others  may  be  means  of  good  to  us,  but  God 
is  the  portion  of  his  people,  the  lot  of  their  in- 
heritance. 

3.  True  love  to  God  regards  all  his  char- 
acter, laws,  and  judgments.  It  does  not  find 
fault  with  his  justice.  It  does  not  cavil  at 
the  strictness  of  his  law.  It  a^oproves  of  the 
purity  of  his  ordinances,  of  the  simplicity  of 
his  worship,  and  of  the  sovereignty  of  his  au- 
thority. 


LOVE  TO  GOD.  343 

4.  There  is  in  genuine  love  to  Grod  stabil- 
ity. It  is  not  fitful.  It  loves  always ;  not  in- 
deed with  equal  vigor,  but  yet  with  constancy. 
It  is  both  an  affection  and  a  principle.  Like 
other  affections,  it  is  liable  to  ebb  and  flow; 
but  as  a  principle,  nothing  can  change  it  while 
God  upholds  it. 

We  may  know  that  we  love  God  by  our 
cheerful,  earnest  obedience  to  his  will.  ''  Now 
are  ye  my  disciples,  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I 
command  you."  "Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the 
law." 

We  may  also  prove  our  love  to  God  by 
our  love  to  his  people.  "We  know  that  we 
have  passed  from  death  unto  life,  because  we 
love  the  brethren." 

We  also  evince  our  love  to  God  by  our 
possession  of  a  childlike  temper  towards  him. 
The  Spirit  of  adoption  always  goes  with  love 
to  God;  so  that  all  believers  may  say,  "We 
have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage  again 
to  fear." 

This  love  to  God  is  essential  to  Christian 
character.  None  can  be  admitted  to  the  heav- 
enly mansions  without  it.  We  may  be  saved 
without  science,  without  literature,  without 
wealth,  without  genius,  without  renown,  with- 


344  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

out  family,  without  health,  without  the  favor 
of  man.  But  there  is  no  admission  to  heaven 
without  love.  "We  must  be  baptized  in  the 
fire  of  love,  or  burned  in  the  fire  of  hell." 
"  Though  I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and 
of  angels,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am  become 
as  sounding  brass  and  a  tinkling  cymbal.  And 
though  I  have  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  under- 
stand all  mysteries  and  all  knowledge;  and 
though  I  have  all  faith,  so  that  I  could  remove 
mountains,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am  nothing. 
And  though  I  bestow  all  my  goods  to  feed  the 
poor,  and  though  I  give  my  body  to  be  burned, 
and  have  not  charity,  it  profiteth  me  nothing." 
John  Angell  James  says,  "Let  the  love  we  bear 
to  God  pervade  and  influence  every  thought 
and  word  and  action.  We  shall  then  abhor 
that  which  he  abhors,  and  depart  from  evil. 
We  shall  subdue  our  own  will,  and  find  our 
best  happiness  in  doing  Jiis.^^ 

The  importance  of  this  love  to  God  is  seen 
at  every  step  in  the  Christian  life.  Without 
it  men  are  continually  jDerplexed  concerning 
their  duty  and  their  liberty.  It  is  a  remark  oi 
John  Newton,  that  "love  is  the  clearest  and 
most  persuasive  casuist ;  and  when  our  love  to 
the  Lord  is  in  lively  exercise,  and  the  rule  of 


LOVE  TO  GOD.  345 

his  word  is  in  our  eye,  we  seldom  make  great 
mistakes.''  Cold  reason  can  never  safely  settle 
questions  which  must  chiefly  be  determined  by 
the  heart.  Logic  is  a  poor  substitute  for  love. 
Right  affections  are  often  a  better  guide  than 
all  the  rules  of  reasoning.  This  is  so  with  the 
mother,  in  her  sleepless  care  of  her  babe.  It 
is  so  with  the  devoted  husband,  in  his  cease- 
less watch  over  his  helpless  wife.  It  is  so  when 
filial  piety  sits  down  to  watch  the  last  flicker- 
ings  of  life  in  a  venerable  parent.  It  is  emi- 
nently so  in  the  love  of  a  child  of  God  to  his 
Father  which  is  in  heaven. 

He  who  finds  his  heart  warmed  with  love 
to  God  need  not  trouble  himself  respecting  his 
election.  Leigh  ton  well  says,  ''He  that  loves 
may  be  sure  that  he  was  loved  first;  and  he 
that  chooses  God  for  his  delight  and  portion 
may  conclude  confidently  that  God  hath  chosen 
liim  to  be  one  of  those  that  shall  enjoy  him,  and 
be  happy  with  him  for  ever ;  for  that  our  love 
and  electing  of  him  is  but  the  return  and  re- 
percussion of  the  beams  of  his  love  shining 
among  us."  ''Love  begets  love."  This  is 
most  true  of  God's  love  to  us.  All  our  love 
to  him  is  engendered  by  his  love  to  us.  And 
so  if  we  choose  him,  we  may  know  that  he  has 

15* 


M6  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

chosen  us,  and  ordained  us,  that  we  should  bear 
much  fruit  to  his  glory. 

He  who  thus  loves  God  will  surely  be  pro- 
vided for.  His  temporal  wants  shall  not  be 
forgotten  before  God.  Chrysostom  says,  "If 
thou  have  a  concern  for  the  things  which  are 
God's,  he  will  also  be  careful  of  thee  and  thine." 
"Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  his 
righteousness;  and  all  these  thiugs  shall  be 
added  unto  you."  Matt.  6:33.  Nor  are  the 
blessings  of  love  confined  to  our  bodily  wants. 
' '  God  is  love ;  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love 
dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  in  him."  It  may 
not  be  given  to  mortals  to  know  all  that  is  thus 
promised;  but  surely  such  language  implies 
very  much.  To  all  who  love  him,  God  is  a 
rest  and  a  refuge,  a  strong  tower  and  a  hiding- 
place,  a  portion  and  an  eternal  all. 


LOVE  TO  CHEIST.  347 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

LOVE  TO  CHRIST. 

In  addressing  the  strangers  scattered 
abroad  throughout  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappado- 
cia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia,  the  apostle  Peter  ad- 
mits that  they  had  never  personally  seen  Jesus 
Christ.  He  himself  had  often  seen  the  Lord. 
He  had  seen  him  walking  by  the  sea  of  Gali- 
lee. He  had  seen  him  walking  on  it.  He  had 
been  with  him  on  the  holy  mount,  in  the  judg- 
ment-hall, and  on  the  top  of  Olivet,  when  he 
ascended  to  glory.  He  had  been  his  compan- 
ion for  years,  had  tasted  of  his  mercy,  had 
beheld  his  miracles,  had  been  an  eye-witness 
of  his  agony,  of  his  betrayal,  of  his  trial,  of  his 
resurrection,  of  his  ascension,  and  of  his  glory 
and  majesty.  He  had  seen  him  in  the  depths 
of  his  humiliation.  He  had  seen  him  in  the 
first  and  second  stages  of  his  exaltation.  Yet 
the  apostle  does  not  assert  that  those  who  had 
not  been  so  highly  favored  as  himself  were 
destitute  of  right  affections  to  the  Redeemer, 
but  says,  "  Whom  having  not  seen,  ye  love.'' 


348  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

1  Pet.  1  :  8.  What  a  rich  provision  of  mercy 
is  that  which  so  far  puts  all  God's  people  on  a 
level  as  to  permit  the  saint  of  these  latter  days 
to  love  the  Lord  Jesus  as  fervently  and  as  ac- 
ceptably as  if  he  had  seen  his  blessed  person 
and  spoken  with  him  face  to  face. 

Though  love  to  Christ  is  not  different  from 
love  to  God,  yet  it  is  worthy  of  distinct  con- 
sideration. It  is  much  spoken  of  in  Scripture. 
It  enters  very  fully  into  the  experience  of  all 
saints.  It  is  one  of  the  strongest  of  all  affec- 
tions, and  one  of  the  most  powerful  principles. 
If  the  time  shall  ever  come  when  such  a  theme 
shall  be  distasteful  to  professing  Christians, 
then  indeed  the  glory  will  have  departed  from 
the  visible  church.  Yet  the  theme  is  always 
unpleasant  to  carnal  men.  Some  satisfy  them- 
selves with  not  caring  for  these  things ;  but  oth- 
ers rail  at  the  whole  doctrine  of  love  to  the 
Son  of  God.  The  efforts  of  such  are  commonly 
directed  to  the  denial  of  the  reality  of  every 
thing  vital  in  religion.  Accordingly  they  make 
light  of  sin,  they  speak  of  human  guilt  as  a 
trifle,  they  think  a  depraved  nature  a  theolog- 
ical invention,  they  look  upon  heaven  as  a  pic- 
ture and  hell  as  a  dream.  They  deny  all  Chris- 
tian graces,  and  in  particular  they  regard  all 


LOVE  TO  CHRIST.  349 

love  to  Christ  as  romance,  confined  to  the  weak 
and  ignorant. 

But  the  word  of  God  rebukes  all  such  wick- 
edness. If  God  does  not  teach  us  the  reality 
of  love  to  Christ  in  all  his  people,  he  teaches 
us  nothing.  Else  what  shall  we  do  with  such 
scriptures  as  these?  ''Let  him  kiss  me  with 
the  kisses  of  his  mouth:  for  his  love  is  better 
than  wine.  Thy  name  is  as  ointment  poured 
forth,  therefore  the  virgins  love  thee.  We 
will  remember  thy  love  more  than  wine :  the 
upright  love  thee.  Behold,  thou  art  fair,  my 
beloved,  yea,  pleasant :  also  our  bed  is  green. 
A  bundle  of  myrrh  is  my  beloved  unto  me  ;  he 
shall  lie  all  night  betwixt  my  breasts.  I  sat 
down  under  his  shadow  with  great  delight,  and 
his  fruit  was  sweet  to  my  taste.  He  brought 
me  to  the  banqueting-house,  and  his  banner 
over  me  was  love.  Stay  me  with  flagons,  com- 
fort me  with  apples  :  for  I  am  sick  of  love. 
His  left  hand  is  under  my  head,  and  his  right 
hand  doth  embrace  me.  My  beloved  is  mine, 
and  I  am  his.  I  am  my  beloved's,  and  his 
desire  is  towards  me.  I  found  him  whom  my 
soul  loveth ;  I  held  him,  and  would  not  let  him 
go,  until  I  had  brought  him  into  my  mother's 
house.     Set  me  as  a  seal  upon  thy  heart,  as  a 


350    '  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

seal  on  thine  arm.  I  charge  you,  0  ye  daugh- 
ters of  Jerusalem,  if  ye  find  my  beloved,  that 
ye  tell  him  I  am  sick  of  love.  Come,  my  be- 
loved, let  us  go  up  early  to  the  vineyards,  let 
us  see  if  the  vines  flourish.  There  will  I  give 
thee  my  loves.  Make  haste,  my  beloved,  and 
be  thou  like  to  a  roe,  or  to  a  young  hart  on  the 
mountains  of  spices.'^ 

Such  is  some  of  the  language  of  one  of  the 
short  books  of  the  Bible,  which  abounds  indeed 
in  imagery  borrowed  from  the  East,  but  which 
also  abounds  in  the  richest  stores  of  Christian 
experience.  Other  portions  of  Scripture  fully 
accord  with  the  proofs  already  quoted.  Christ 
himself  said,  ''He  that  loveth  me  shall  be  loved 
of  my  Father,  and  I  will  love  him,  and  mani- 
fest myself  to  him.  If  any  man  love  me,  he 
will  keep  my  words,  and  my  Father  will  love 
him,  and  we  will  come  unto  him,  and  make 
our  abode  with  him.  As  the  Father  hath  loved 
me,  so '  have  I  loved  you ;  continue  ye  in  my 
love."  Other  portions  of  God's  word  are  of 
like  import.  It  is  then  undeniable  that  God's 
word  calls  for  love  to  Christ  as  an  essential 
proof  of  Christian  character.  Downright  infi- 
delit}^  teaches  nothing  more  dangerous  than 
that  we  can  have  pious  affections,  pleasing  to 


LOVE  TO  OHEIST.  351 

Grod,   without  any   love   to   the   Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

And  God's  people  have  the  best  ground  of 
love  to  Christ.  He  is  ''  the  chiefest  among  ten 
thousand,  and  altogether  lovely."  He  is  per- 
fect Grod  and  perfect  man  in  two  distinct  na- 
tures and  one  person  for  ever.  He  is  the 
author  of  eternal  redemption,  the  Saviour  of 
the  world.  To  him  we  owe  both  our  being 
and  our  well-being.  His  grace  is  rich,  free, 
and  unchangeable.  His  love  to  us  has  in  it 
heights  and  depths,  lengths  and  breadths, 
which  can  never  be  measured.  It  passeth 
knowledge.  None  ever  loved  us  as  Christ, 
who  gave  himself  for  us.  Well  do  Solomon 
and  Paul  unite  in  calling  him  The  Beloved. 
All  the  righteous  do  the  same.  We  owe  him 
all  gratitude,  all  good-will,  all  complacency. 

The  first  essential  quality  of  love  to  Christ 
is  that  it  be  unfeigned.  In  it  there  can  be  ad- 
mitted no  double-mindedness.  Paul  closes  one 
of  his  epistles  with  the  solemn  words,  "Grace 
be  with  all  them  that  love  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  sincerity.  Amen."  Eph.  6  :  24.  In- 
sincerity spoils  any  profession ;  but  a  profes- 
sion of  love,  not  founded  in  the  depths  of  the 
heart,  is  exceedingly  hateful  to  God  and  man. 


352  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

When  even  the  worst  of  men  see  deception  and 
guile  in  matters  of  friendship,  their  abhorrence 
is  awakened.  Let  every  man  see  to  it  that  his 
love  is  real  and  genuine. 

Love  to  Christ  is  a  pure  and  holy  affection. 
It  is  the  reigning  principle  among  the  redeem- 
ed in  glory.  It  is  the  bond  of  union  among 
believers  on  earth.  Love  to  Christ  has  for  its 
object  his  glorious  person.  And  yet  it  is  not 
at  all  like  the  admiration  and  fondness  we  have 
for  the  comely  appearance  of  men  upon  earth. 
There  is  nothing  carnal  or  gross  in  the  affec- 
tions of  a  creature  towards  the  Lord  of  life  and 
glory.  When  upon  earth,  his  pious  followers 
loved  him,  although  ''his  visage  was  so  marred 
more  than  any  man,  and  his  form  more  than 
the  sons  of  men."  And  it  is  so  still.  After 
his  resurrection  and  before  his  ascension,  he 
said  to  Mary,  "  Touch  me  not ;  for  I  am  not  yet 
ascended  to  my  Father ;  but  go  to  my  brethren, 
and  say  unto  them,  I  ascend  unto  my  Father 
and  your  Father,  and  to  my  God  and  your 
God."  John  20  :  17.  Some  think  our  Lord 
thus  intended  to  remind  Mary  that  it  was  not 
by  touching  his  body,  but  by  believing  on  him; 
not  by  handling  him,  but  by  spiritually  laying 
hold  on  him,  that  he  would  have  her  approach 


LOVE  TO  CHEIST.  353 

him.  Whether  this  passage  bears  such  a  con- 
struction or  not,  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  fact 
that  thousands  saw  him,  heard  him,  and  touch- 
ed him  with  their  bodily  faculties,  and  were 
never  a  whit  the  better  for  it  all.  Paul  says, 
"Though  we  have  known  Christ  after  the  flesh, 
yet  now  henceforth  know  we  him  no  more." 
2  Cor.  5:16.  To  his  disciples  no  less  than  to 
his  enemies  Jesus  said,  "Ye  shall  seek  me; 
and  as  I  said  unto  the  Jews,  Whither  I  go  ye 
cannot  come,  so  now  I  say  to  you."  John 
13  :  33  ;  compare  John  8  :  21.  "  He  is  a  Jew, 
which  is  one  inwardly;  and  circumcision  is 
that  of  the  heart,  in  the  spirit,  and  not  in  the 
letter ;  whose  praise  is  not  of  men,  but  of  God." 
Rom.  2  :  29. 

True  love  to  Christ  is  always  grieved  at 
having  its  sincerity  seriously  questioned. 
"Jealousy  is  cruel  as  the  grave;  the  coals 
thereof  are  coals  of  fire,  which  hath  a  most 
vehement  flame."  Song  8  :  Q,  "Peter  was 
grieved  because  Jesus  said  unto  him  the  third 
time,  Lovest  thou  me?"  John  21  :  17.  That 
question  is  never  earnestly  brought  home  to 
the  bosom  of  any  genuine  follower  of  the  Sav- 
iour without  awakening  the  deepest  concern ; 
and  until  it  can  be  satisfactorily  answered,  the 


354:  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

soul  is  in  deep  waters.  This  must  ever  be  the 
case.  It  is  not  possible  for  any  to  love  the 
Lord  Jesus  without  seeing  something  of  his 
infinite  excellency,  without  at  the  same  time 
wishing  to  love  him  more,  or  without  seeing 
that  want  of  love  to  him  would  be  the  eternal 
undoing  of  the  soul. 

It  should  also  be  noted  that  there  may  be 
much  imperfection  even  in  genuine  love  to  the 
Saviour.  To  deny  this  is  to  cut  off  the  whole 
Christian  world  from  a  participation  in  the 
favor  of  Christ.  If  no  man  loves  the  Saviour, 
except  he  loves  perfectly,  then  none  but  the 
redeemed  above  have  any  evidence  that  they 
are  his.  How  sadly  imperfect  even  genuine 
love  may  be,  is  seen  in  the  case  of  David  and 
Peter  and  many  other  Bible  saints.  At  times 
their  conduct  was  sadly  opposed  to  the  belief 
that  they  were  good  men.  So  now  all  the  best 
men  in  this  world  are  among  the  foremost  to 
cry  out,  "In  many  things  we  all  offend  f  "In- 
iquities prevail  against  us;"  "We  abhor  our- 
selves, and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes;"  "Unto 
us  belong  shame  and  confusion  of  faces." 

Yet  true  love  to  Christ  is  not  fitful.  It  is 
constant,  not  periodical.  Like  the  fire  of  old 
kept  burning  on  the  altar,  which  at  some  times 


LOVE  TO  CHBIST.  355 

was  much  brighter  than  at  others,  yet  at  no 
time  was  entirely  extinct,  so  the  love  of  Christ 
never  totally  vanishes  from  the  heart  of  a  good 
man,  although  it  is  not  always  glowing.  A 
gold  dollar  may  be  as  genuine  metal  as  a  gold 
eagle.  A  live  coal  is  as  truly  fire  as  the  bow- 
els of  a  glowing  furnace.  The  new-born  in- 
fant is  as  trul}^  a  human  being  as  the  full-grown 
man.  Let  us  beware  how  we  grieve  whom 
Grod  doth  not  grieve  by  denying  them  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  sons  of  God.  He 
who  can  give  power  to  the  faint,  and  increase 
might  to  him  that  hath  no  strength;  he  who 
can  hold  up  the  weak  brother,  and  make  the 
feeble  among  his  people  like  David,  will  not 
forget  his  covenant  nor  quench  the  smoking 
flax. 

It  is  a  good  sign  when  we  can  humbly  and 
reverently  appeal  to  Omniscience  for  the  sin- 
cerity of  our  love.  Appearances  are  some- 
times against  men,  very  good  men.  When 
this  is  so,  they  are  deeply  abased;  but  they 
will  not  therefore  let  go  their  hold  on  the  di- 
vine mercy,  nor  deny  their  allegiance  to  Christ. 
This  was  the  case  with  Peter.  He  had  denied 
his  Lord,  and  brought  great  reproach  on  the 
cause  of  God,  and  had  deeply  bewailed  his 


356  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

wickedness;  yet  when  thrice  interrogated  by 
Christ,  his  answers  were,  ''Yea,  Lord:  thou 
knowest  that  I  love  thee;"  "Yea,  Lord:  thou 
knowest  that  I  love  thee  f  "Lord,  thou  know- 
est all  things ;  thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee." 
Every  true  child  of  God  can  sincerely  pray, 
"Lord,  if  I  am  deceived,  do  thou  undeceive 
me."  To  our  Master  in  heaven  we  stand  or 
fall;  and  when  we  can  truly  say,  "Lord,  to 
whom  shall  we  go  but  unto  thee  ?  thou  hast  the 
words  of  eternal  life,"  we  have  a  right  to  re- 
joice and  be  glad. 

G-enuine  love  to  Christ  does  not  regard  any 
service  it  can  render,  or  any  sacrifice  it  can 
make,  as  too  great  for  the  honor  of  Christ. 
True  love  to  the  Saviour,  so  far  from  being  a 
dormant  principle,  is  wonderfully  active,  and 
delights  in  paying  the  largest  tribute  it  can 
possibly  render.  It  is  not  of  the  nature  of  su- 
preme love  to  begrudge  any  thing.  Under  the 
sway  of  such  affection  for  Christ,  Paul  said  of 
bonds  and  afiQictions,  "None  of  these  things 
move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto 
myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my  course  with 
joy,  and  the  ministry  which  I  have  received  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God."     Acts  20  :  24.     Again  he  says, 


LOVE  TO  CHKIST.  357 

"  What  things  were  gain  to  me,  those  I  counted 
loss  for  Christ.  Yea  doubtless,  and  I  count  all 
tilings  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord:  for  whom  I 
have  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  and  do 
count  them  but  dung,  that  I  may  win  Christ, 
and  be  found  in  him,  not  having  mine  own 
righteousness,  which  is  of  the  law,  but  that 
which  is  through  the  faith  of  Christ,  the  right- 
eousness which  is  of  God  by  faith."  Phil.  3  : 7-9. 
It  was  the  same  mighty  principle  of  love  to 
Christ  that  sustained  the  martyrs  of  all  ages, 
made  them  rejoice  in  the  spoiling  of  their  goods, 
and  in  all  tribulation,  and  finally  caused  them 
to  triumph  over  death  in  its  most  horrible 
forms. 

True  love  to  Christ  is  supreme.  "If  any 
man  come  to  me,  and  hate  not  his  father,  and 
mother,  and  wife,  and  children,  and  brethren, 
and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life  also,  he  can- 
not be  my  disciple."  Luke  14  :  26.  That  is, 
if  a  man  does  not  put  Christ  above  all  these, 
and  love  them  less  than  him,  he  is  not  a  true 
Christian.  Gregory  Nazianzen  said,  ''If  I 
have  any  possessions,  health,  credit,  learning, 
this  is  all  the  contentment  I  have  of  them,  that 
I  have  somewhat  I  may  despise  for  Christ,  who 


358  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

is  the  all-desirable  and  the  every  thing  desira- 
ble.'' Augustine  said,  "How  sweet  it  is  to 
deny  these  sinful  sweets." 

It  is  worthy  of  special  notice  that  the  exer- 
cise of  love  to  Christ  is  not  only  pleasant,  but 
is  so  in  a  high  degree.  The  same  may  indeed 
be  said  of  other  pious  affections,  but  this  is  so 
peculiarly  true  of  love  to  the  Saviour,  that  it 
deserves  special  consideration.  The  very  first 
motions  of  this  grace  are  so  delightful,  that 
even  young  converts  regard  a  day  of  holy  ex- 
ercises of  mind  as  worth  more  than  years  of 
sinful  pleasure.  They  greatly  wonder  that 
they  never  had  a  just  estimate  of  these  things 
before.  To  love  Christ  is  the  very  height  of 
wisdom.  Every  Christian  has  the  demonstra- 
tion of  this  truth  in  his  own  blessed  experi- 
ence. The  natural  language  of  the  renewed 
soul  is,  Who  would  not  love  Jesus  ?  The  wick- 
ed passions  of  our  nature  commonly  bring  with 
them  great  pain.  Under  their  influence  men 
grow  pale,  tremble  in  their  whole  frame,  lose 
their  appetite,  become  wakeful  and  restless, 
and  often  pine  away.  But  the  love  of  Christ 
produces  none  of  these  miseries.  It  opens 
fountains  of  joy  before  sealed  up,  and  makes 
rivers  to  break  forth  in  the  wilderness. 


LOVE  TO  CHEIST.  359 

In  love  to  Christ,  nothing  is  more  pleasing 
than  to  witness  its  increasing  strength  and  mel- 
lowness. At  first,  in  all  its  feebleness  it  may 
yet  manifest  some  rather  fiery  qualities;  but 
when  it  becomes  strong  it  acquires  much  of  the 
gentleness  of  Christ.  Our  first  love  is  often 
like  new  wine.  Our  matured  love  is  like  wine 
on  the  lees  well  refined.  The  former  may 
burst  even  new  bottles;  the  latter  would  not 
injure  old  ones.  This  matter  may  be  well  illus- 
trated by  the  difference  between  a  loving  young 
groom  and  bride  and  the  same  i^ersons  after 
they  have  been  partakers  of  each  other's  joys 
and  sorrows  for  half  a  century.  When  young, 
there  is  a  peculiar  ardor  and  fondness  not  at 
all  diminished  by  the  novelty  of  the  affection ; 
but  in  old  age,  the  heart  and  life  of  each  are 
bound  up  in  the  other.  If  one  of  those  young 
persons  had  died,  the  survivor  would  have 
been  filled  with  grief,  and  perhaps  have  fallen 
into  paroxysms;  but  in  a  few  years  at  most, 
all  would  have  seemed  to  pass  away.  But  let 
one  of  those  loving  old  people  die,  and  the  sur- 
vivor, however  strong  and  healthy  at  the  time, 
will  soon  show  signs  of  decay,  and  in  a  short 
time  will  sink  into  the  grave.  The  young 
couple,  with  all  their  afi'ection,  were  sometimes 


360  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

a  little  irritable,  perhaps  jealous  or  moody; 
but  the  old  ones  had  a  confidence  in  each  other, 
and  a  natural  tenderness  which  nothing  could 
disturb.  So  the  young  disciple,  though  he 
loves  sincerely,  has  but  little  stability  com- 
pared with  what  he  will  have,  if  he  shall  serve 
God  till  he  has  a  large  experience. 

There  is  also  in  true  love  to  Christ  a  genu- 
ine modesty,  which  grows  with  all  other  right 
affections.  This  modesty  leads  even  the  babe 
in  Christ  to  be  dissatisfied  with  the  amount  of 
his  devotion  to  the  Saviour.  More  experience 
leads  to  yet  more  profound  self-renunciation. 
Every  fall  into  sin  followed  by  recovery  but 
deepens  self-distrust.  And  although  the  child 
of  God  may  not  be  ready  to  renounce  his  in- 
tegrity nor  deny  his  love,  yet  he  is  very  will- 
ing to  speak  of  himself  and  his  love  to  Christ 
in  the  most  unpretending  manner. 

It  is  also  true,  that  he  who  loves  Christ  de- 
lights in  commending  and  honoring  him,  and 
in  seeing  others  do  the  same.  It  is  impossible 
to  love  that  which  is  not  excellent  or  beautiful 
in  our  eyes.  And  so  surely  as  any  thing  seems 
so  to  us,  we  wish  others  to  unite  with  us  in 
admiring  it.  Could  therefore  a  converted  man 
be  found  who  was  indifferent  whether  others 


LOVE  TO  CHEIST.  361 

were  brought  to  love  Christ  or  not,  he  would 
be  such  a  monster  in  the  spiritual  world  as  has 
never  yet  made  his  appearance. 

True  love  to  Christ  is  to  his  whole  person, 
to  his  human  and  his  divine  natures.  He  who 
hates  or  rejects  either  his  divinity  or  his  hu- 
manity hates  and  rejects  him.  Chrysostom 
says,  ''When  thou  hearest  of  Christ,  do  not 
think  him  God  only  or  man  only,  but  both  to- 
gether. For  I  know  Christ  was  hungry,  and 
I  know  that  with  five  loaves  he  fed  five  thou- 
sand men,  besides  women  and  children.  I 
know  Christ  was  thirsty,  and  I  know  Christ 
turned  water  into  wine.  I  know  Christ  was 
carried  in  a  ship,  and  I  know  Christ  walked 
on  the  waters.  I  know  Christ  died,  and  I 
know  Christ  raised  the  dead.  I  know  Christ 
was  set  before  Pilate,  and  I  know  Christ  sits 
with  the  Father.  I  know  Christ  was  worshipped 
by  the  angels,  and  I  know  Christ  was  stoned 
by  the  Jews.  And  truly  some  of  these  I  as- 
cribe to  the  human,  others  to  the  divine  nature ; 
for  by  reason  of  this  he  is  said  to  be  both  to- 
gether.'^ 

Of  course  he  who  loves  Christ  loves  his 
Sabbaths,  his  worship,  his  truth,  his  laws,  his 
people,  and  all  that  brings  him  to  mind.     To 

Vital  GodUnoM,  16 


362  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

sucli  the  Sabbath  is  a  delight,  the  holy  of  the 
Lord,  and  honorable.  There  is  no  uncharita- 
bleness  in  supposing  that  he  who  hates  holy 
time  hates  a  holy  God  and  a  holy  Saviour. 
And  if  any  man  loves  not  the  worship  of  Christ 
on  earth,  surely  he  cannot  love  the  temper  of 
the  redeemed  above ;  for  nothing  is  more  clear- 
ly revealed  than  that  Christ  receives  the  high- 
est adorations  of  heaven.  The  same  man, 
when  he  finds  the  words  of  Christ,  will  keep 
them  and  rejoice  in  them.  They  are  to  his 
soul  meat  and  drink.  They  are  to  him  a  foun- 
tain of  life,  a  well-spring  of  salvation.  Even 
Christ's  laws,  with  all  their  binding  force,  are 
the  rejoicing  of  his  heart.  And  to  him  God's 
people  are  the  excellent  of  the  earth,  in  whom 
is  all  his  delight.  Whoso  loves  God's  image 
anywhere,  will  love  it  in  his  people.  He  who 
loves  not  his  brother,  whom  he  has  seen,  can- 
not love  his  Saviour,  whom  he  has  not  seen. 

One  of  the  miseries  of  man  is  that  he  is 
apt  to  set  his  affection  on  unworthy  objects. 
The  more  he  loves  such  things,  the  more  un- 
happy he  is.  But  in  loving  Christ  we  know 
that  the  object  is  worthy  of  our  supreme  re- 
gard. Yes,  he  is  worthy.  Lady  Huntington 
expressed  common  Christian  experience  when 


LOVE  TO  CHEIST.  363 

she  said,  ''I  am  nothing;  Christ  is  all:  I  dis- 
claim as  well  as  disdain  any  righteousness  but 
his.  I  not  only  rejoice  that  there  is  no  wisdom 
for  his  people  but  that  from  above,  but  reject 
every  pretension  to  any  but  what  comes  from 
himself.  I  want  no  holiness  he  does  not  give 
me ;  I  would  not  accept  a  heaven  he  did  not 
prepare  for  me.  I  can  wish  for  no  liberty  but 
what  he  likes  for  me,  and  I  am  satisfied  with 
every  misery  that  he  does  not  redeem  me 
from  ;  that  in  all  things  I  may  feel  that  with- 
out him  I  can  do  nothing.''  Either  Christ  will 
be  all  our  salvation,  or  he  will  leave  us  to  per- 
ish. The  righteous  consent  that  it  shall  be  so. 
Would  you  have  fervent  love,  labor  for 
lively  faith.  Ardent  love  is  sure  to  accom- 
pany strong  believing.  An  old  writer  says, 
*' Believe,  and  you  shall  love;  believe  much, 
and  you  shall  love  much ;  labor  for  strong  and 
deep  persuasions  of  the  glorious  things  which 
are  spoken  of  Christ,  and  this  will  command 
love .  Certainly,  did  men  believe  his  worth,  they 
would  accordingly  love  him ;  for  the  reasona- 
ble mind  cannot  but  love  that  which  it  firmly 
believes  to  be  worthiest  of  affection.  Oh,  this 
mischievous  unbelief  is  that  which  makes  the 
heart  cold  and  dead  -towards  God.     Seek  then 


364  VITAL  GOJ)LINESS. 

to  believe  Christ's  excellency  in  himself,  and 
his  love  to  us,  and  our  interest  in  him,  and  this 
will  kindle  such  a  fire  in  the  heart  as  will  make 
it  ascend  in  a  sacrifice  of  love  to  him." 

Love  to  Christ  is  sure  to  be  requited  by 
the  love  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Spirit.  Christ  himself  said,  "He  that  loveth 
me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father,  and  I  will 
love  him  and  manifest  myself  to  him."  And 
the  Spirit  is  as  loving  as  the  Father  and 
the  Son.  And  although  that  expression  used 
by  Paul,  the  love  of  the  Spirit,  is  by  many  un- 
derstood to  mean  ' '  the  love  of  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  the  author,"  yet  even  that  shows  his 
loving  nature  perhaps  no  less  than  if  thereby 
we  understood  his  direct  love  to  his  people. 

Love  to  Christ  is  a  mighty  principle.  Let 
it  control  us,  and  we  shall  be  able  to  meet  all 
the  storms  of  life  with  firmness,  and  do  all  the 
duties  of  life  with  alacrity.  It  will  bear  us 
up  and  on  and  through.  John  Newton  says, 
"The  love  of  Christ  was  the  apostle's  chief 
motive  ;  it  constrained  him  ;  bore  him  along 
like  a  torrent,  in  defiance  of  labor,  hardship, 
and  opposition."  As  for  us,  what  are  we  with- 
out it  but  reeds  shaken  with  the  wind  ?  But 
with  it  we  become  heroes,  pillars,  martyrs,  vie- 


LOVE  TO  CHEIST.  365 

tors,  yea,  more  than  conquerors.  This  is  true 
at  all  times.  On  one  occasion  Dr.  Doddridge 
interested  himself  in  behalf  of  a  condemned 
criminal,  and  at  length  obtained  his  pardon. 
On  entering  the  cell  of  the  condemned  man, 
the  pardoned  man  fell  at  his  feet,  and  with 
streaming  eyes  exclaimed,  ''Oh  sir,  every  drop 
of  my  blood  thanks  you,  for  you  have  had 
mercy  on  every  drop  of  it.  Wherever  you 
go,  I  will  be  yours."  How  natural  was  all 
this.  And  how  surely  will  one  who  feels  that 
his  soul  is  saved  from  wrath  by  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb,  be  ready  to  give  all,  all  to  him.  It 
is  this  love  to  Christ  that  makes  God's  people 
so  dissatisfied  with  all  their  present  attain- 
ments, and  so  long  to  depart  and  be  with 
Christ.  That  eminent  servant  of  God,  Samuel 
Davies,  on  recovering  from  a  dangerous  ill- 
ness, wrote  to  a  friend,  "Formerly  I  have 
wished  to  live  longer,  that  I  might  be  better 
prepared  for  heaven;  but  this  consideration 
had  but  very  little  weight  with  me,  and  that 
for  a  very  unusual  reason,  which  was  this: 
after  a  long  trial,  I  found  this  world  is  a  place 
so  unfriendly  to  the  growth  of  every  thing 
divine  and  heavenly,  that  I  was  afraid  if  I 
should  live  longer,  I  should  be  no  better  fitted 


366  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

for  heaven  than  I  am.  Indeed,  I  have  hardly 
any  hopes  of  ever  making  any  great  attain- 
ments in  holiness  while  I  live,  though  I  should 
be  doomed  to  stay  in  it  as  long  as  Methuselah. 
I  see  other  Christians  around  me  making  prog- 
ress; but  when  I  consider  I  set  out  about 
twelve  years  old,  and  what  sanguine  hopes  I 
then  had  of  my  future  progress,  and  yet  that  I 
have  been  almost  at  a  stand  ever  since,  I  am 
quite  discouraged.  Oh  my  good  and  gracious 
Master,  if  I  may  dare  to  call  thee  so,  I  am 
afraid  I  shall  never  serve  thee  much  better  on 
this  side  the  region  of  perfection.  The  thought 
grieves  me;  it  breaks  my  heart;  but  I  can 
hardly  hope  better.  But  if  I  have  the  least 
spark  of  true  piet}^  in  my  breast,  I  shall  not 
always  labor  under  this  complaint.  No,  my 
Lord,  I  shall  yet  serve  thee,  serve  thee  through 
an  immortal  duration,  with  the  activity,  the 
fervor,  the  perfection  of  the  seraph  that  adores 
and  burns.  I  very  much  doubt  this  despond- 
ing view  of  matters  is  wrong,  and  I  do  not 
mention  it  with  approbation,  but  only  relate  it 
as  an  unusual  reason  for  my  willingness  to  die, 
which  I  never  felt  before,  and  which  I  could 
not  suppress."  The  only  thing  very  remarka- 
ble in  this  extract  is  that  its  learned  and  ex- 


LOVE  TO  CHRIST.  367 

perienced  author  should  have  supposed  that 
some  strange  thing  had  happened  to  him.  All 
God's  people  long  for  perfect  deliverance  from 
sin;  nor  does  their  experience  lead  them  to 
expect  it  here.  They  would  be  made  perfect 
in  love  to  Christ. 

Child  of  sorrow,  come  and  welcome  to  Jesus 
Christ.  He  will  give  you  rest.  His  peace  shall 
rule  your  heart.  Blunt  says,  ''Are  you  trav- 
ailing with  sorrow?  Are  you  heavy-laden 
with  the  burden  of  oppression  or  woe  ?  Christ 
will  give  you  rest.  Doubtless  the  heavy-laden 
with  the  burden  of  sin  are  first  invited,  but 
they  exclude  no  other  sufferers.  There  is  no 
exception  of  age  or  rank  or  clime,  the  extent 
of  the  travail,  or  the  weight  of  the  burden ;  the 
childish  sorrows  of  the  weeping  school-boy  are 
as  much  the  subject  of  the  Saviour's  sympathy 
as  the  matured  wretchedness  of  the  aged  man ; 
all  come  within  the  Saviour's  invitation."  Oh 
that  all  would  receive  him.  How  soon  should 
the  waters  of  bitterness  be  changed  into  foun- 
tains of  joy,  and  the  mournful  dirge  be  given 
up  for  the  song  of  triumph. 

We  can  now  see  something  of  the  force  of 
that  solemn  declaration  of  Paul,  "If  any  man 
love  not  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be 


368  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

anathema,  Maran-atha."  The  world  hurls  its 
anathemas  after  those  who  despise  its  follies 
and  denounce  its  vices.  The  Council  of  Trent 
cry  anathema  on  the  man  ' '  whoever  shall  affirm 
that  a  true  and  proper  sacrifice  is  not  offered 
to  God  in  the  mass,"  or  ''whoever  shall  affirm 
that  matrimony  is  not  truly  and  properly  a  sac- 
rament." But  Paul  says,  "If  any  man  love  not 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  let  him  be  anathema, 
Maran-atha ;"  that  is,  let  him  be  accursed  when 
the  Lord  cometh. 


LOVE  TO  OUB  NEIGHBOE.  369 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

LOVE  TO  OUR  NEIGHBOE. 

We  need  line  upon  line  and  precept  upon 
precept.  Although  one  clear  and  undeniable 
revelation  of  God's  will  binds  the  conscience 
and  moulds  the  character  of  a  child  of  God, 
yet  it  is  with  peculiar  pleasure  that  the  pious 
mind  finds  a  duty  inculcated  in  various  forms, 
at  different  times,  and  by  different  men.  This 
remark  applies  to  the  whole  matter  of  love  to 
our  neighbor.  In  Leviticus  19:18,  Jehovah 
says,  "Thou  shalt  not  avenge,  nor  bear  any 
grudge  against  the  children  of  thy  people ;  but 
thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself;  I  am 
the  Lord."  And  in  the  thirty-fourth  verse  of 
the  same  chapter  he  says,  "The  stranger  that 
dwelleth  with  you  shall  be  unto  you  as  one 
born  among  you,  and  thou  shalt  love  him  as 
thyself ;  for  ye  were  strangers  in  the  land  of 
Egypt:  I  am  the  Lord  your  God."  The  evan- 
gelists Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke,  inform  us 
that  Jesus  Christ  repeatedly  called  attention 
to  the  command,  "Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
bor as  thyself,"  and  pronounced  it  the  great 

16* 


370  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

pillar  of  morals.  See  Matt.  19:19;  22  :  39  ; 
Mark  12:31-34;  Luke  10:27-37.  In  his 
epistles  to  the  Eomans  and  to  the  Galatians, 
Paul  also  quotes  with  high  commendation  the 
same  law.  Rom.  13:9,  and  Gal.  5  :  14.  The 
apostle  James  does  the  same.  Jas.  2:8.  So 
that  there  is  no  room  left  for  any  doubt  as  to 
the  importance  and  obligation  of  the  duty  en- 
joined. That  great  prophet  Moses,  Jesus  the 
Son  of  God,  Paul  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, and  James  the  son  of  Alpheus,  the  brother 
of  Jude  and  the  near  relative  of  our  Lord,  all 
in  the  name  of  Jehovah  give  us  this  command- 
It  is  distinctly  repeated  nine  times  in  God's 
word. 

Such  a  command  is  far  from  being  unneces- 
sary. A  man  who  had  lived  much  in  society, 
said  that  his  acquaintance  would  fill  a  cathe- 
dral, but  a  pulpit  would  hold  all  his  friends. 
We  are  naturally  slow  to  open  our  hearts  in  a 
comprehensive  good-wilL  We  are  all  by  na- 
ture prone  to  narrow-mindedness.  Carnal  men 
are  never  in  a  mood  to  be  pleased  with  a  wide- 
ly diffusive  benevolence.  They  may  admire 
its  fruits  as  exercised  by  others,  but  its  prac- 
tice is  irksome  to  the  unrenewed  mind.  We 
love  like  snails  to  crawl  into  our  little  shells 


LOVE  TO  OUB  NEIGHBOR.  371 

and  there  abide.  The  plan  of  God  is  to  call 
us  out  and  make  us  banish  these  contracted 
views.  All  the  noble  sentiments  of  the  human 
heart  are,  like  the  widow's  oil,  increased  by 
pouring  out.  God  is  as  kind  as  he  is  holy  in 
so  ordaining  that  no  man  shall  be  strongly  self- 
ish and  truly  happy.  If  God  gives  you  bread 
enough  and  to  spare,  and  then  brings  to  your 
knowledge  the  case  of  the  poor  and  needy,  he 
does  you  a  great  kindness ;  and  you  will  be  a 
better  and  happier  man  for  having  your  sou] 
drawn  out  to  the  hungry. 

The  Bible  says,  ' '  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
bor as  thyself."  And  here  we  are  met  with  the 
old  question,  "  Who  is  my  neighbor  ?"  When 
a  carping  lawyer,  who  wished  to  justify  him- 
self, asked  this  question,  Jesus  Christ  answered 
him  thus:  "A  certain  man  went  down  from 
Jerusalem  to  Jericho,  and  fell  among  thieves, 
which  stripped  him  of  his  raiment,  and  wound- 
ed him,  and  departed,  leaving  him  half  dead. 
And  by  chance  there  came  down  a  certain 
priest  that  way;  and  when  he  saw  him  he 
passed  by  on  the  other  side.  And  likewise  a 
Levite,  when  he  was  at  the  place,  came  and 
looked  on  him,  and  passed  by  on  the  other 
side.    But  a  certain  Samaritan,  as  he  iourney- 


372  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

ed,  came  where  he  was :  and  when  he  saw  him, 
he  had  compassion  on  him,  and  went  to  him, 
and  bound  up  his  wounds,  pouring  in  oil  and 
wine,  and  set  him  on  his  own  beast,  and 
brought  him  to  an  inn,  and  took  care  of  him. 
And  on  the  morrow  when  he  departed,  he  took 
out  two  pence,  and  gave  them  to  the  host,  and 
said  unto  him,  Take  care  of  him ;  and  whatso- 
ever thou  spendest  more,  when  I  come  again  I 
will  repay  thee.  Which  now  of  these  three, 
thinkest  thou,  was  neighbor  unto  him  that  fell 
among  thieves  ?  And  he  said.  He  that  showed 
mercy  on  him.  Then  said  Jesus  unto  him, 
Go  and  do  thou  likewise."  Without  dwelling 
on  the  striking  incidents  here  brought  out  in 
detail,  the  great  truth  clearly  taught  is  that 
any  man  is  our  neighbor  to  whom  we  can  show 
a  kindness.  Although  D.  Kimchi,  in  remark- 
ing on  Psalm  15  :  3,  says,  "A  neighbor  is  every 
one  with  whom  we  have  any  dealing  or  con- 
versation f  yet  in  the  days  of  our  Saviour  the 
Jews  regarded  themselves  as  bound  to  love 
none  except  their  own  people.  Their  rule  was, 
"Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor,  and  hate  thine 
enemy.''  Between  Jews  and  Samaritans  there 
was  no  intercourse  that  could  possibly  be 
avoided.     Yet  Christ  teaches  that  they  are 


LOVE  TO  OUR  NEIGHBOR.  373 

neighbors  in  the  eye  of  God's  law.  No  man 
who  admits  that  God  gave  the  command  to 
love  our  neighbor,  will  deny  that  it  obliges  us 
to  love  our  friends,  our  kindred,  and  our  coun- 
trymen. Even  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  al- 
ways admitted  thus  much.  Yet  this  is  a  very 
low  standard  of  virtue.  Christ  said,  ''If  ye 
love  them  which  love  you,  what  reward  have 
ye  ?  do  not  even  the  publicans  the  same  ?  And 
if  ye  salute  your  brethren  only,  what  do  ye 
more  than  others  ?  do  not  even  the  publicans 
so  ?"  While  he  whose  love  goes  not  beyond 
his  own  little  sphere,  has  but  little  deserving 
of  the  name  of  right  affections ;  he  who  goes 
not  thus  far,  is  a  monster  of  wickedness,  and 
without  natural  affection. 

It  is  also  evident  from  Scripture  that  even 
our  enemies  are  to  receive  the  tokens  of  our 
good- will.  Jesus  Christ  said,  "Love  your  en- 
emies ;  bless  them  that  curse  you ;  do  good  to 
them  that  hate  you ;  and  pray  for  them  which 
despitefully  use  you  and  persecute  you ;  that 
ye  may  be  the  children  of  your  Father  which 
is  in  heaven."  Matt.  5 :  44,  45.  Again,  "Love 
ye  your  enemies,  and  do  good,  and  lend,  hop- 
ing for  nothing  again ;  and  your  reward  shall 
be  great,  and  ye  shall  be  the  children  of  the 


374  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Highest."  Luke  6  :  35.  Paul  and  Solomon 
teach  the  same  doctrine:  "If  thine  enemy  hun- 
ger, feed  him ;  if  he  thirst,  give  him  drink :  for 
in  so  doing  thou  shalt  heap  coals  of  fire  on  his 
head.  Be  not  overcome  of  evil,  but  overcome 
evil  with  good."  Rom.  12:20,  21 5  Prov. 
25  :  21,  22.  With  these  agree  all  the  inspired 
writers.  Now  all  consent  that  we  should  love 
our  friends,  and  the  Scriptures  teach  that  we 
should  love  our  enemies ;  and  these  two  classes 
comprehend  the  whole  human  race  with  whom 
we  have  intercourse  or  dealings.  Besides  the 
foregoing  explanations,  it  may  be  stated  that 
the  love  of  gratitude  is  confessedly  binding  on 
all  the  human  race.  There  is  no  man  so  de- 
praved as  not  to  see  gross  iniquity  in  a  flagrant 
act  of  injustice.  It  is  a  truth  no  less  commonly 
confessed,  that  if  men  have  great  moral  excel- 
lence, they  ought  to  be  loved  on  that  account. 
But  when  we  enforce  the  obligations  of  a  pure 
and  high  benevolence  to  all  the  race,  there  is 
apt  to  be  a  withholding  of  the  hearty  consent 
of  the  mind.  Yet  from  Scripture  nothing  is 
clearer  than  that  such  good-will  is  due  to  all 
as  we  have  knowledge  of  them  and  opportunity 
to  do  them  good. 

This   leads  us  to  consider  what  are   the 


LOVE  TO  OUE  NEIGHBOE.  375 

proper  proofs  and  uniform  fruits  of  such  love 
to  our  neighbor  as  is  enjoined  in  Scripture.  In 
the  nineteenth  chapter  of  Leviticus  there  are 
many  things  specified  as  duties  to  our  fellow- 
men,  all  of  which  are  so  fitly  joined  with  love 
to  our  neighbor,  that  they  may  be  properly 
mentioned  here.  One  was  this:  "When  ye 
reap  the  harvest  of  your  land,  thou  shalt  not 
wholly  reap  the  corners  of  thy  field,  neither 
shalt  thou  gather  the  gleanings  of  thy  harvest." 
Yerse  9.  Another  was  like  unto  it:  "Thou 
shalt  not  glean  thy  vineyard,  neither  shalt  thou 
gather  every  grape  of  thy  vineyard;  thou  shalt 
leave  them  for  the  poor  and  stranger."  Yerse 
10.  Another  was  in  these  words  :  "Ye  shall 
not  steal,  neither  deal  falsely,  neither  lie  one 
to  another."  Yerse  11.  Again,  "Thou  shalt 
not  defraud  thy  neighbor,  neither  rob  him :  the 
wages  of  him  that  is  hired  shall  not  abide  with 
thee  all  night  till  the  morning."  Yerse  13. 
One  still  more  striking  was,  "Thou  shalt  not 
curse  the  deaf,  nor  put  a  stumbling-block  be- 
fore the  blind."  Yerse  14.  In  other  words, 
you  shall  take  no  advantage  of  the  afflictions 
and  powerlessness  of  men.  Another  precept 
was,  ' '  Ye  shall  do  no  unrighteousness  in  judg- 
ment ;  thou  shalt  not  respect  the  person  of  the 


376  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

poor,  nor  honor  the  person  of  the  mighty :  but 
in  righteousness  shalt  thou  judge  thy  neigh- 
bor.'^ Yerse  15.  Another  rule  of  great  im- 
portance was,  "Thou  shalt  not  go  up  and  down 
as  a  talebearer  among  thy  people."  Yerse  16. 
Nothing  could  be  more  inconsistent  with  love 
to  our  neighbor  than  such  a  practice.  An- 
other precept  forbade  any  man  to  give  false 
testimony,  or  to  refuse  to  give  true  testimony. 
Yerse  16.  Another  was  in  these  words : 
**Thou  shalt  not  hate  thy  brother  in  thy  heart: 
thou  shalt  in  any  wise  rebuke  thy  neighbor, 
and  not  suffer  sin  upon  him."  Yerse  18.  Then 
immediately  comes  the  command,  "Thou shalt 
love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  From  all  this 
it  is  evident  that  love  to  our  neighbor  is  the 
same  in  its  fruits  as  the  fulfilment  of  the  sec- 
ond table  of  the  law.  And  we  have  the  au- 
thority of  Christ  for  saying  that  on  love  to 
God  and  to  our  neighbor  hang  the  law  and  the 
prophets.  Matt.  22  :  40.  Paul  teaches  the 
same  when  he  says,  "He  that  loveth  another 
hath  fulfilled  the  law.  For  this.  Thou  shalt  not 
commit  adultery.  Thou  shalt  not  kill.  Thou  shalt 
not  steal.  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness, 
Thou  shalt  not  covet ;  and  if  there  be  any 
other  commandment,  it  is  briefly  comprehend- 


LOVE  TO  OUE  NEIGHBOE.  377 

ed  in  this,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself.  Love  worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbor : 
therefore  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law.'' 
Eom.  13  :  8-10. 

The  fruits  of  love  to  our  neighbor  are,  first, 
benevolent  wishes  concerning  him  and  his  af- 
fairs. Hearty  good  wishes  are  far  from  being 
vain  either  in  the  sight  of  God  or  of  good  men. 
Oftentimes  good  wishes  are  the  best,  the  only 
proof  we  can  give  of  our  good-will.  Only  let 
us  see  to  it  that  they  be  sincere. 

Again,  we  can  express  kind  thoughts  and 
charitable  judgments  ot  men  and  their  con- 
duct, and  so  prove  that  we  love  them.  Tow- 
ards ourselves  we  are  at  liberty  to  practise 
severity  of  judgment;  but  to  others  there  must 
be  lenity.  ''  Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged. 
For  with  what  judgment  ye  judge,  ye  shall  be 
judged;  and  with  what  measure  ye  mete,  it 
shall  be  measured  to  you  again."  Matt.  7:1,2. 
Some  express  contempt  for  kind  words;  but 
they  really  mean  such  as  are  hypocritical,  or 
they  know  not  what  they  say.  Words  of  gen- 
uine kindness  are  of  the  highest  value.  With- 
out them  society  is  a  source  of  constant  misery. 
When  our  love  leads  us  to  the  throne  of 
grace,  and  we  are  drawn  out  in  fervent  prayer 


378  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

for  men,  then  the  fruit  of  love  is  very  pleasing. 
''  Bless  them  that  curse  you,  and  pray  for  them 
that  despitefully  use  you  and  persecute  you." 
So  says  Paul,  ''  I  exhort  therefore,  that,  first  of 
all,  supplications,  prayers,  intercessions,  and 
giving  of  thanks,  be  made  for  all  men :  for 
kings,  and  for  all  that  are  in  authority;  that 
we  may  lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life,  in  all 
godliness  and  honesty."  1  Tim.  2:1,2.  What 
mode  of  expressing  good-will  could  be  more 
appropriate  than  that  commended  in  Psalm 
20:1-5:  "The  Lord  hear  thee  in  the  day  of 
trouble ;  the  name  of  the  God  of  Jacob  defend 
thee;  send  thee  help  from  the  sanctuar}^,  and 
strengthen  thee  out  of  Zion  ;  remember  all 
thy  offerings,  and  accept  thy  burnt  sacrifice  ; 
grant  thee  according' to  thine  own  heart,  and 
fulfil  all  thy  counsel. . .  The  Lord  fulfil  all 
th}^  petitions."  Let  us  often  search  and  try  our 
ways,  and  see  if  by  our  prayers  we  prove  that 
we  love  our  fellow-men. 

True  love  to  men  will  of  course  lead  us  to 
forgive  those  who  have  injured  us.  This  is  a 
point  on  which  our  blessed  Saviour  laid  the 
greatest  stress.  There  is  no  dispensing  with 
it.  ''If  ye  forgive  not  men  their  trespasses, 
neither  will  your  Father  forgive  your  tres- 


LOVE  TO  OUK  NEIGHBOE.  379 

passes.''  Matt.  6:15.  ''Forgive,  and  ye  shall 
be  forgiven."  Luke  6:37.  Perhaps  there  is 
no  better  evidence  of  a  renewed  heart  than  a 
cordial  forgiveness  of  injuries,  nor  a  surer  sign 
that  we  are  yet  in  our  sins,  than  carrying  old 
grudges  about  with  us.  He  that  will  not  for- 
give, must  soon  have  his  heart  filled  with  ha- 
tred ;  and  he  that  hateth  his  brother  is  a  mur- 
derer; and  ye  know  that  no  murderer  hath 
eternal  life  abiding  in  him.  Of  all  the  holy 
arts  possessed  by  Christians,  none  is  more  ad- 
mirable than  that  whereby  they  turn  injuries 
to  their  own  profit  and  to  the  divine  glory. 
Mather  says,  "The  injuries  of  life,  if  rightly 
improved,  will  be  to  us  as  the  strokes  of  the 
statuary  on  his  marble,  forming  us  to  a  more 
beautiful  shape,  and  making  us  fitter  to  adorn 
the  heavenly  teriaple."  Genuine  love  to  man 
will  not  only  seem  to  forgive,  but  it  will  do 
that  very  thing.  "It  is  the  glory  of  a  man 
to  pass  over  a  transgression."  Prov.  19:11. 
Merely  to  pretend  to  such  a  thing,  and  not  to 
do  it,  is  but  miserably  to  mimic  goodness,  while 
we  are  filled  with  all  uncleanness.  There  are 
upon  earth  no  worse  and  no  more  unhappy 
men  than  those  who  carry  about  old  grudges, 
and  retain  a  lively  memory  of  wrongs  long 


380  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

since  committed  against  themselves.  The  Per- 
sians have  a  pleasing  proverb :  "  The  man  who 
returns  good  for  evil  is  as  a  tree  which  renders 
its  shade  and  its  fruit  to  those  who  cast  stones 
at  it."  South  says,  "Love  is  never  so  blind 
as  when  it  is  to  spy  faults.  It  is  like  the  paint- 
er who,  being  to  draw  the  picture  of  a  friend 
having  a  blemish  in  one  e^^e,  would  picture 
only  the  other  side  of  his  face." 

"Love  ye  your  enemies."  "This  is  the 
most  sublime  precept  ever  delivered  to  man. 
A  false  religion  durst  not  give  a  precept  of  this 
nature,  because,  without  supernatural  influ- 
ence, it  must  be  for  ever  impracticable." 

Another  good  fruit  of  love  to  man  is  mer- 
cifulness. "The  righteous  is  ever  merciful." 
Psa.  37:26.  "Blessed  are  the  merciful;  for 
they  shall  obtain  mercy."  Matt.  5:7.  "Be 
ye  merciful,  as  your  Father  also  is  merciful." 
Luke  6:36.  An  habitual  unrestrained  incli- 
nation to  harshness,  cruelty,  and  ojDpression  is 
one  of  the  worst  signs  in  the  character  of  any 
man.  On  the  other  hand,  an  enlarged  prevail- 
ing disposition  to  pity  men's  sorrows,  alleviate 
their  miseries,  and  promote  their  happiness  is 
one  of  the  best  signs  in  the  character  of  any 
man.     There  is  in  some  men  a  fitful  and  vari- 


LOVE  TO  O.UE  NEIGHBOE.  381 

able  tenderness  to  others,  wMch  seems  to  be  a 
mere  instinct.  It  sometimes  burns  with  great 
heat,  and  soon  subsides  into  indifference  or 
aversion ;  but  genuine  love  forms  habits  of 
kindness  in  the  heart,  and  brings  them  forth 
in  the  life.  The  dispositions  we  display  to  the 
helpless,  the  guilt}^,  the  forsaken,  are  often  the 
best  tests  of  our  real  character.  Nor  is  there 
any  surer  prelude  of  wrath  than  cruel  disposi- 
tions. ' '  He  shall  have  judgment  without  mercy 
that  hath  showed  no  mercy.''  James  2:13. 
Tyrants,  in  any  sphere  of  life,  are  hateful  not 
only  to  all  virtuous  men,  but  also  to  God  him- 
self. 

Love  to  man  will  always  produce  kindness 
to  the  poor  and  needy,  the  friendless  and  af- 
flicted. "  Blessed  is  he  that  considereth  the 
poor:  the  Lord  will  deliver  him  in  time  of 
trouble.  The  Lord  will  preserve  him,  and 
keep  him  alive:  and  he  shall  be  blessed  upon 
the  earth :  and  thou  wilt  not  deliver  him  unto 
the  will  of  his  enemies.  The  Lord  will  strength- 
en him  on  the  bed  of  languishing.  Thou  wilt 
make  all  his  bed  in  his  sickness."  Psa.  41 : 1-3. 
''Pure  religion  and  undefiled  before  God  and 
the  Father  is  this,  To  visit  the  fatherless  and 
widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  himself 


382  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

unspotted  from  the  world. '^  James  1 :27.  ''Ee- 
member  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he 
said,  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." 
Acts  20 :  35.  These  portions  of  Scripture  form 
a  basis  broad  enough  for  any  sober  scheme  of 
genuine  charity  that  has  ever  been  devised. 
The  word  of  God  uniformly  lays  the  greatest 
stress  upon  kindness  to  the  poor  and  afflicted, 
as  evidence  of  a  heartfelt  charity.  "Whoso 
hath  this  world's  good,  and  seeth  his  brother 
have  need,  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of  com- 
passion from  him,  how  dwelleth  the  love  of  God 
in  him?''  1  John  3:17.  So  that  the  Scrip- 
tures deny  the  genuineness  of  all  love  which 
is  without  good  fruits.  Nor  is  any  act  of  our 
lives  more  sure  of  reward  than  kindness  to 
the  needy.  "He  that  hath  pity  on  the  poor 
lendeth  unto  the  Lord;  and  that  which  he 
hath  given  will  he  pay  him  again."  Prov. 
19:17. 

But  love  is  never  at  a  loss  for  some  way  to 
evince  itself  If  it  can  do  no  more,  it  will 
cheer  with  a  smile,  it  will  rejoice  or  weep  with 
those  it  loves,  it  will  soften  a  pillow  or  smooth 
a  bed,  it  will  watch  with  those  to  whom  nights 
of  vanity  are  appointed,  it  will  whisper  encour- 
agement to  the  faint,  it  will  in  some  way  make 


LOVE  TO  OUR  NEIGHBOR.  383 

itself  felt  for  good.  A.  preacher  once  said,  "If 
you  know  any  thing  that  will  make  a  brother's 
heart  glad,  run  quick  and  tell  it;  but  if  it  is 
something  that  will  only  cause  a  sigh,  bottle  it 
up,  bottle  it  up." 

God's  word  requires  that  thou  shouldest 
"  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself  J  ^  The  measure 
of  love  due  to  our  neighbor  is  a  matter  of  chief 
importance.  Very  few  persons  in  a  Christian 
country  will  deny  that  it  is  our  duty  to  bear 
some  good-will  to  those  around  us.  But  many 
deny  the  extent  of  the  obligation.  Some  re- 
spectable writers  have  expressed  great  diffi- 
culties on  the  subject.  But  surely  it  is  no  pre- 
sumption to  prefer  the  plain  teachings  of  God's 
word  above  those  of  any  mortal.  Here  is  a 
command  repeated  in  Hebrew  and  Greek  by 
Moses,  Christ,  Paul,  and  James,  in  all  nine 
times,  without  any  variation,  and  in  very  plain 
terms.  Nor  is  it  pretended  that  there  is  any 
philological  difficulty  in  the  case.  The  transla- 
tion is  correct.  There  is  no  room  for  doubt  in 
this  respect.  What  right  therefore  has  any 
man  to  say  that  the  command  so  often  repeat- 
ed means  no  more  than  that  we  should  love 
our  neighbor  generally  and  indefinitely  as  our- 
selves?   To  clear  the  matter,  the  following  re- 


384  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

marks  are  offered,  with  confidence  in  their  en- 
tire justice : 

1.  It  is  evidently  the  design  of  the  inspired 
writers  to  fix  the  degree  in  which  we  are  bound 
to  love  our  neighbor.  They  distinctly  require 
ns  to  love  God  supremely,  above  all  others, 
admitting  no  rivals,  no  comparisons.  They  as 
distinctly  say  that  we  should  love  our  neigh- 
bor as  ourselves.  There  is  no  reason  why  in- 
spired men  should  so  often  have  added  the 
words  ''as  thyself,"  unless  they  thus  designed 
to  determine  how  far  we  should  love  others. 

2.  In  alluding  to  our  love  of  self,  the  in- 
spired writers  did  not  refer  to  such  love  of 
ourselves  as  is  inordinate,  and  therefore  prop- 
erly selfish  and  sinful.  All  inordinate  affec- 
tion, whether  towards  ourselves  or  others,  is 
contrary  to  God's  word  and  will ;  and  its  ex- 
cesses in  one  case  cannot  justify  its  excesses  in 
another.  Besides,  it  is  simply  impossible,  in 
the  nature  of  things,  that  the  human  mind 
should  love  God  supremely,  and  at  the  same 
time  go  out  inordinately  both  towards  one's 
self  and  one's  neighbor. 

3.  There  is  a  difference  between  selfish- 
ness and  self-love.  The  former  is  the  excess 
and  outlawry  of  the  latter.     The  former  is 


LOVE  TO  OUB  NEIGHBOR.  385 

wicked,  and  consists  in  a  persistent  looking  on 
our  own  things  and  a  constant  caring  for  our- 
selves, let  others  do  as  they  may.  The  latter 
is  an  enlightened  and  lawful  regard  to  our  own 
welfare,  and  is  the  standard  and  measure  ap- 
proved of  God  for  regulating  our  affections  tow- 
ards others.  "Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself  J  ^ 

4.  It  is  not  denied  that  in  a  sense  we  may 
care  and  act  more  for  the  immediate  good  of 
ourselves  and  families  than  of  others  more  re- 
motely connected  with  us.  We  are  urged  by 
the  instinct  of  self-preservation  to  protect  from 
harm  our  own  bodies  more  than  those  of  oth- 
ers. But  the  commandment  relates  not  to  in- 
stincts, but  to  moral  affections.  So  also  by 
natural  affection  the  mother  is  led  to  forget  the 
rest  of  the  world  for  a  season,  that  she  may 
watch  her  own  languishing  babe.  But  the  law 
we  are  now  considering  does  not  relate  to  nat- 
ural affection,  which  is  more  or  less  discovera- 
ble even  in  brute  animals.  It  is  a  moral  law, 
given  to  moral  agents.  And  so  there  is  no 
violation  of  its  spirit  in  a  man's  providing  for 
his  own,  and  especially  for  those  of  his  own 
household.  Not  to  do  so  would  prove  him 
*'  worse  than  an  infidel.'^ 

vital  QodUness.  17 


386  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

5.  There  is  nothing  in  this  law  which  re- 
quires us  to  do  a  natural  impossibility.  Thus 
it  is  commonly  in  our  power  to  do  much  more 
for  ourselves  and  families  than  for  others. 
Most  persons  are  commonly  not  within  our 
reach.  They  are  out  of  our  sight  and  beyond 
the  compass  of  our  voice.  But  we  can  reprove, 
exhort,  warn,  and  encourage  ourselves  when 
we  will.  We  can  often  do  the  same  to  those 
near  us.  But  this  does  not  prove  that  we  may 
love  ourselves  and  families  more  than  all  oth- 
ers. The  mother  may  not  lawfully  love  the 
child  at  her  side  more  than  she  may  love  his 
little  brother  captured  by  savages  and  carried 
into  the  wilderness.  Yet  a  man  would  not  be 
esteemed  sane  who  should  assert  that  this  same 
mother  was  bound  to  do  as  many  acts  of  daily 
kindness  for  one  child  as  for  the  other.  It 
would  be  literally  impossible. 

6.  The  law  of  love  to  our  neighbor  has  an 
excellent  practical  exposition  in  what  has  long 
been  called  the  golden  ruJe^  which  is  in  these 
words:  ''All  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that 
men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them : 
for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets.''  None 
can  deny  that  this  law  binds  us  to  all  the  acts 
of  love  to  our  neighbor  which  we  mav  lawfully 


LOVE  TO  OUE  NEIGHBOE.  387 

desire  liim  to  perform  towards  ourselves.  If 
therefore  we  are  bound  to  yield  the  fruits  of 
love  to  others  as  we  seek  them  from  others, 
why  should  we  not  love  our  neighbor  as  we  do 
ourselves  ?  Where  is  any  flaw  in  this  reason- 
ing ?  This  golden  rule  affords  an  excellent  test 
by  which  to  judge  both  of  our  selfish  and  of  our 
benevolent  feelings.  When  we  wish  others  to 
do  something  for  us,  let  us  ask  first  whether, 
in  an  exchange  of  circumstances,  we  should  be 
ready  to  do  the  same  for  them. 

7.  The  Scriptures  do  commend  a  very  high 
degree  of  love  to  men.  They  say  that  ''per- 
adventure  for  a  good  man  some  would  even 
dare  to  die."  Rom.  5  : 8.  This  is  evidently 
spoken  not  in  censure,  but  in  praise  of  the  self- 
sacrificing  man.  John  is  yet  more  explicit,  and 
says  that  in  certain  cases  ' '  we  ought  to  lay 
down  our  lives  for  the  brethren."  1  John 
3  :16.  Paul  furnishes  us  with  an  example  of 
what  John  here  teaches  when  he  says  to  the 
Philippians,  ''  If  I  be  offered  upon  the  sacrifice 
and  service  of  your  faith,  I  joy  and  rejoice  with 
you  all."  Phil.  2 :  17.  Now  Paul  did  not  love 
others  more  than  the  law  requires ;  yet  he  was 
willing  to  suffer  martyrdom,  if  thereby  he  could 
be  most  useful  to  his  fellow-men.     Surely  this 


388  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

is  loving  our  neighbor  as  ourselves.  The  thing 
is  therefore  not  impracticable.  G-reater  love 
than  this  is  not  required. 

8.  "We  do  most  effectually  promote  our  own 
happiness  when  we  cultivate  the  most  benevo- 
lent affections  towards  our  neighbor.  Nor  is 
there  any  limit  to  this  remark.  Who  that 
ever  hoarded  up  wealth  was  as  happy  as  John 
Howard?  What  lazy,  selfish  minister  ever 
enjoyed  life  like  Paul,  who  rejoiced  even  in 
tribulation?     Home  says, 

' '  The  truly  generous  is  truly  wise  ; 
And  lie  wlio  loves  not  others  Hves  unblest." 

I  have  never  known  an  unhappy  philanthro- 
pist. I  have  never  had  a  doleful  letter  from  a 
foreign  missionary.  It  is  on  the  selfish  that 
ennui  and  satiety  and  discontent  and  anguish 
prey.     Wilcox  says, 

"  Wouldst  thou  from  sorrow  find  a  sweet  rehef  ? 
Or  is  thy  heart  oppressed  with  woes  untold  ? 
Balm  wouldst  thou  gather  for  corroding  grief  ? 
Pour  blessings  round  thee  hke  a  shower  of  gold." 

Thus  it  is  clear  that  we  ought  to  love  our 
neighbor  as  much  as  we  love  ourselves ;  we 
ought  to  be  as  ready  to  give  as  to  receive  jus- 
tice, kindness,  truth,  pity,  and  bounty ;  in  our 
dealings  with  others,  we  should  be  as  careful 
to  fulfil  to  all  men  the  duties  required,  and  to 


LOVE  TO  OUE  NEIGHBOE.  389 

avoid  the  sins  forbidden  in  the  second  table  of 
the  law,  as  we  are  free  to  regard  them  bound 
to  do  and  to  avoid  the  same.  In  some  things, 
we  may  even  give  others  the  advantage.  "In 
honor  preferring  one  another ;"  and,  "Let  each 
esteem  other  better  than  themselves,''  are  forms 
of  speech  which  show  that  where  there  seems 
to  be  a  conflict  between  our  love  to  ourselves 
and  our  love  to  our  neighbor,  there  are  cases 
where  he  is  to  have  the  benefit  of  the  doubt, 
and  to  take  the  precedence.  This  love  will 
make  us  put  a  proper  estimate  upon  the  worth 
of  our  neighbor,  construe  all  his  conduct  in  as 
charitable  a  manner  as  truth  will  permit,  prof- 
fer assistance  whenever  it  is  required  and  we 
can  afford  it,  be  careful  to  say  nothing  con- 
trary to  "  the  royal  law,"  take  pleasure  in  the 
welfare  of  others,  and  especially  with  diligence 
seek  their  spiritual  and  eternal  good.  The  high- 
est charity  is  that  which  aims  at  men's  salva- 
tion.    "  He  that  winneth  souls  is  wise." 

It  remains  that  a  few  words  be  said  in 
presenting  motives  for  the  performance  of  this 
duty.  The  motive  twice  presented  in  the  nine- 
teenth chapter  of  Leviticus,  is  the  awful  author- 
ity of  God :  "  I  am  the  Lord ;"  "I  am  the  Lord 
your  God."     A  due  consideration  of  God's 


390  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

authority,  and  a  clue  regard  to  it,  are  sufficient 
to  command  the  assent  and  the  consent  of  all 
who  have  the  love  of  God  in  them.  But  this 
saying,  I  am  the  Lord,  may  mean  more  than 
this.  It  may  call  us  to  a  large  benevolence, 
corresponding  in  our  measure  to  the  love  man- 
ifested by  Grod  himself.  Thus  Paul  says,  ''  Be 
ye  followers,"  imitators,  "  of  God,  as  dear  chil- 
dren ;  walk  in  love,  as  Christ  also  hath  loved  us, 
and  hath  given  himself  for  us.''  Eph.  5  : 1,  2. 
God  "  maketh  his  sun  to  shine  on  the  evil  and 
on  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and 
on  the  unjust."  Matt.  5  :  45.  Even  where 
whole  nations  have  forsaken  God,  practised 
idolatry,  and  walked  in  their  own  ways,  "he 
left  not  himself  without  witness,  in  that  he  did 
good,  and  gave  them  rain  from  heaven,  filling 
their  hearts  with  food  and  gladness."  The 
Lord's  mercies  are  "new  every  morning." 
Lam.  3:23.  "Herein  is  love,  not  that  we 
loved  God,  but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his 
Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins.  Be- 
loved, if  God  so  loved  us,  we  ought  also  to 
love  one  another."     1  John  4  :  10,  11. 

The  example  of  our  blessed  Saviour  is  often 
presented  as  a  powerful  motive  to  this  very 
duty.    He  went  about  doing  good.    We  should 


LOYE  TO  OUE  NEIGHBOB.  391 

walk  as  lie  walked.  He  has  set  us  an  exam- 
ple, that  we  should  follow  his  steps.  Ye  know 
the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  though 
he  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sakes  he  became  poor, 
that  we  through  his  poverty  might  be  made 
rich. 

In  this  way  we  can  also  best  commend  our 
religion  to  others,  and  put  to  silence  the  igno- 
rance of  foolish  men,  and  win  those  who  are  of 
a  contrary  part. 

Nothing  more  fatally  hinders  our  prayers 
than  the  want  of  love  to  men.  All  correct 
moral  feelings  are  shocked  at  prayer  mingled 
with  malice.  Who  ever  heard  of  a  happy  or 
thriving  church  where  the  spirit  of  love  was 
not ?  Leighton  says,  "To  pray  together,  hearts 
must  be  consorted  and  tuned  together ;  other- 
wise, how  can  they  sound  the  same  suits  har- 
moniously ?  How  unpleasant  in  the  exquisite 
ear  of  Grod,  who  made  the  ear,  are  the  jarring, 
disunited  hearts  that  often  seem  to  join  in  the 
same  prayer,  and  yet  are  not  set  together  in 
love !  And  when  thou  prayest  alone,  while 
thy  heart  is  imbittered  and  disaffected  to  thy 
brother,  although  upon  an  offence  done  to  thee, 
it  is  as  a  mistuned  instrument ;  the  strings  are 
not  accorded,  are  not  in  tune  among  themselves, 


392  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

and  so  the  sound  is  harsh  and  offensive.  Try 
it  well  thyself,  and  thou  wilt  perceive  it ;  how 
much  more  He  to  whom  thou  prayest !  When 
thou  art  stirred  and  in  passion  against  thy 
brother,  or  not  lovingly  affected  towards  him, 
w^hat  broken,  disordered,  unfastened  stuff  are 
thy  requests !  Therefore  the  Lord  will  have  this 
done  first — thy  heart  tuned.  "  GrO  thy  way," 
says  he;  "leave  thy  gift,  and  be  reconciled  to 
thy  brother;  then  come  and  offer  thy  gift." 
Every  enlightened  conscience  must  approve 
this  method.  No  other  consists  with  sincerity 
or  holiness. 

One  of  the  great  excellences  of  love  to  our 
neighbor  is,  that  it  is  an  immortal  principle. 
"  Charity  never  faileth."  "It  will  survive  the 
wreck  of  worlds,"  says  Dr.  John  James,  "out- 
time  time  itself,  and  be  for  ever  the  work  of 
the  servants  of  God." 


LOVE  TO  THE  BRETHREN.  893 

CHAPTER  XYIII. 

LOVE  TO  THE  BRETHREN. 

Just  before  lie  laid  clown  his  life,  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  said  to  his  disciples,  "A  new  com- 
mandment I  give  unto  you,  That  ye  love  one 
another;  even  as  I  have  loved  you,  that  ye 
also  love  one  another."  John  13 :  34.  In  ex- 
plaining this  passage,  critics  have  found  diffi- 
culty from  the  use  of  the  word  new.  They  say 
that  love  to  God's  people  as  such  is  no  new 
thing  under  the  gospel.  This  is  certainly  true. 
Saints  have  always  esteemed  each  other  the 
excellent  of  the  earth,  in  whom  was  all  their 
delight.  Psa.  16:3.  David  says,  "I  am  a 
companion  of  all  them  that  fear  thee,  and  of 
them  that  keep  thy  precepts;"  and  "  mine  eyes 
shall  be  upon  the  faithful  of  the  land,  that  they 
may  dwell  with  me."  Psa.  119  :  63;  101  :  6. 
Solomon  says,  "He  that  walketh  with  wise 
men  shall  be  wise :  but  the  companion  of  fools 
shall  be  destroyed."  Psa.  13  :  20.  So  in  the 
days  of  Malachi,  "they  that  feared  the  Lord 
spake  often  one  to  another."  Mai.  3:16.  It 
is  impossible  for  two  children  of  God  to  know 

17* 


394  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

and  not  to  love  each  other.  This  was  as  true 
three  thousand  years  ago  as  it  is  now.  Many 
regard  the  friendship  between  David  and  Jon- 
athan as  based  in  this  love.  If  this  be  correct, 
we  have  a  very  strong  case  of  brotherly  love 
furnished  under  the  old  dispensation.  The 
word  neiv  is  not  then  to  be  taken  in  the  sense 
of  novel  or  unheard  of.  Christ  does  not  in- 
tend to  say,  "I  give  jon  an  additional  com- 
mandment." Some  have  thought  that  the  dif- 
ficulty might  be  removed  by  supposing  that 
the  word  neiu  here  signifies  superior,  better,  or 
excellent.  Now  although  the  word  might  have 
this  sense,  and  in  some  cases  has  it,  yet  this 
command  is  not  better  than  that  which  binds 
us  to  love  God  with  all  the  heart,  and  our  neigh- 
bor as  ourselves ;  and  so  this  sense  cannot  be 
here  admitted. 

Sometimes  the  word  7iew  seems  to  mean 
strange,  and  so  some  would  read  it,  ''I  give 
you  a  strange  commandment,''  meaning  there- 
by a  precept  that  will  seem  strange  to  the 
masses  of  men,  being  so  unusual  in  human  his- 
tory. But  this  is  hardly  the  sense  of  the  word 
here.  We  are  not  driven  by  any  necessity  to 
such  a  construction.  The  meaning  is  not  that 
the  duty  of  love  to  man  or  to  good  men  is  now 


LOVE  TO  THE  BEETHBEN.  395 

first  taught,  but  that  we  are  called  to  love  good 
men  as  Ch-'isfs  discijples^  and  because  they  are 
such,  and  that  in  a  previously  unknown  degree 
and  for  an  unusual  motive,  namely,  Christ's 
love  to  all  his  people.  We  are  to  love  Chris- 
tians as  Christians.  We  are  to  love  them  after 
the  pattern  of  Christ's  love  to  us.  And  we  are 
to  love  them  because  he  thus  loved  us.  In 
these  senses  and  in  no  others  is  this  command- 
ment new  or  novel.  In  these  senses  it  was  new 
until  Christ  came. 

Fifty-seven  years  after  Christ  uttered  these 
words,  John  wrote  respecting  this  command- 
ment of  love  to  Christian  brethren,  "Not  as 
though  I  wrote  a  new  commandment  unto  you, 
but  that  which  we  had  from  the  beginning, 
that  we  love  one  another."  Dr.  John  Brown 
of  Edinburgh  thus  paraphrases  these  words: 
"Though  the  commandment  to  love  one  an- 
other cannot  now  be  called  a  new  one,  as  if 
just  issued  forth — for  from  the  beginning  of  the 
gospel  it  was  announced  as  the  distinctive  com- 
mand of  our  one  Lawgiver — yet  it  may  well  be 
called  new  so  far  as  he  is  concerned,  for  no 
one  gave  it  till  he  did  it ;  and  so  far  as  you  are 
concerned,  for  it  was  a  law  to  which  you  were 
strangers  till  you  assumed  his  easy  yoke  and 


396  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

light  burden."  Jesus  Christ  differed  from  all 
the  philosophers  and  teachers  among  the  an- 
cients, because  he  inculcated  love  among  his 
disciples,  and  so  in  the  sense  explained  he 
gave  them  a  new  commandment  concerning 
love  to  their  brethren. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  other  portions 
of  Scripture  urge  the  same  duty.  Thus  Christ 
says,  ''  This  is  my  commandment,  That  ye  love 
one  another,  as  I  have  loved  you."  Johnl5  :12. 
Paul  says,  "Be  kindly  afifectioned  one  to  an- 
other with  brotherly  love."  Eomans  12  :  10. 
Again,  ' '  The  Lord  make  you  to  increase  and 
abound  in  love  one  toward  another."  1  Thess. 
3:12.  Again,  "  We  are  bound  to  thank  God 
always  for  you,  brethren,  as  it  is  meet,  because 
that  your  faith  groweth  exceedingly,  and  the 
charity  of  every  one  of  you  all  toward  each 
other  aboundeth."  2  Thess.  1  :  3.  Peter  says, 
"Be  ye  all  of  one  mind,  having  compassion 
one  of  another ;  love  as  brethren,  be  pitiful,  be 
courteous."  Again,  ''Above  all  things  have 
fervent  charity  among  yourselves."  1  Peter 
3  :  8,  and  4  :  8.  John  says,  ''  This  is  the  mes- 
sage that  ye  heard  from  the  beginning,  that  we 
should  love  one  another."  1  John  3:11.  The 
same  is  taught  in  many  other  places. 


LOVE  TO  THE  BEETHEEN.  397 

The  first  essential  quality  of  this  love  is  that 
it  should  be  real,  not  feigned.  Thus  John  says, 
''My  little  children,  let  us  not  love  in  word, 
neither  in  tongue,  but  in  deed  and  in  truth." 
1  John  3  :  18.  So  also  Peter  speaks  of  "un- 
feigned love  of  the  brethren."  1  Pet.  1  :  22. 
Every  Christian  grace  may  be  counterfeited. 
Even  all  love  to  the  people  of  God  is  not  what 
the  Scripture  requires.  John  Newton  well 
says,  "There  is  a  natural  love  to  the  brethren. 
People  may  sincerely  love  their  relations, 
friends,  and  benefactors  who  are  of  the  breth- 
ren, and  yet  be  utter  strangers  to  the  scriptu- 
ral love  the  apostle  speaks  of.  So  Orpah  had 
a  great  affection  for  Naomi,  though  it  was  not 
strong  enough  to  make  her  willing  with  Ruth 
to  leave  her  native  country  and  her  idol-gods. 
Natural  affection  can  go  no  further  than  to  a 
personal  attachment ;  and  they  who  thus  love 
the  brethren,  and  upon  no  better  grounds,  are 
often  disgusted  with  those  things  in  them  for 
which  the  real  brethren  chiefly  love  one  an- 
other. 

' '  There  is  likewise  a  love  of  convenience.  The 
Lord's  people  are  gentle,  peaceful,  benevolent, 
swift  to  hear,  slow  to  speak,  slow  to  wrath. 
They  are  desirous  of  adorning  the  doctrine  of 


398  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

God  their  Saviour,  and  approving  themselves 
followers  of  liim  who  pleased  not  himself,  but 
spent  his  life  in  doing  good  to  others.  Upon 
this  account  they  who  are  full  of  themselves, 
and  love  to  have  their  own  way,  may  like  their 
company  because  they  find  more  compliances 
and  less  opposition  from  them  than  from  such 
as  themselves.  For  a  while  Laban  loved  Ja- 
cob: he  found  him  diligent  and  trustworthy, 
and  perceived  that  the  Lord  prospered  him  on 
Jacob's  account ;  but  when  he  saw  that  Jacob 
flourished,  and  apprehended  he  was  likely  to 
do  without  him,  his  love  was  soon  at  an  end ; 
for  it  was  only  founded  in  self-interest. 

'^  A.  party-love  is  also  common.  The  objects 
of  this  are  those  who  are  of  the  same  sentiment, 
worship  in  the  same  way,  or  are  attached  to 
the  same  minister.  They  who  are  united  in 
such  narrow  and  separate  associations,  may 
express  warm  affections  without  giving  any 
proof  of  true  Christian  love ;  for  upon  such 
grounds  as  these  not  only  professed  Christians, 
but  Jews  and  Turks  may  be  said  to  love  one 
another:  though  it  must  be  allowed  that  be- 
lievers being  renewed  but  in  part,  the  love 
which  they  bear  to  the  brethren  is  too  often 
debased  and  alloyed  by  a  mixture  of  selfish 


LOVE  TO  THE  BEETHEEN.  399 

affections."  It  is  a  great  matter  when  love 
unfeigned  to  God's  people  fairly  gets  posses- 
sion of  the  man. 

Again,  our  love  to  the  brethren  should  be 
lasting,  and  not  occasional  or  temporary.  "Let 
brotherly  love  continued  Heb.  13:1.  The 
reasons  which  should  lead  us  to  brotherly  love 
at  one  time  are  of  perpetual  force,  nor  can  we 
innocently  deny  their  power  or  refuse  their 
control.  All  affections  which  seem  to  be  of 
good  quality,  but  are  temporary  in  duration, 
are  spurious.  This  is  as  true  of  temporary 
faith  or  sorrow  for  sin,  as  of  love.  True  grace 
is  not  like  Jonah's  gourd,  which  "came  up  in 
a  night  and  perished  in  a  night." 

Our  love  to  the  brethren  should  also  be 
fervent.  Well  did  Peter  say,  "See  that  ye 
love  one  another  with  a  pure  heart  fervently." 
1  Pet.  1  :  22.  Love  wholly  without  fervor  can- 
not exist.  There  is  no  such  thing.  But  love 
without  considerable  fervor  will  make  many  ol 
our  duties  to  our  brethren  irksome.  Besides, 
we  are  naturally  timid.  Pride  might  embolden 
us,  but  pride  is  ofl&cious  and  offensive.  On  the 
other  hand,  love  is  as  humble  as  it  is  diligent, 
and  begets  a  sweet  and  obliging  disposition, 
and  prepares  us  to  do  good  on  a  large  scale. 


400  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Nor  can  differences  of  nationality  hinder  this. 
I  have  heard  of  a  Hindoo  and  a  New  Zealander 
who  met  upon  the  deck  of  a  missionary  ship 
They  had  been  converted  from  their  heathen- 
ism, and  were  brothers  in  Christ,  but  they 
could  not  speak  to  each  other.  They  pointed 
to  their  Bibles,  shook  hands,  smiled  in  one 
another's  faces,  but  that  was  all.  At  last  a 
happy  thought  occurred  to  the  Hindoo.  With 
a  sudden  joy  he  exclaimed,  "Hallelujah!"  the 
New  Zealander,  in  delight,  cried  out,  "Amen!" 
Those  two  words,  not  found  in  their  own  hea- 
then tongues,  but  given  them  by  the  gospel, 
were  to  them  the  beginning  again  of  "one  lan- 
guage and  one  speech." 

The  true  basis  of  love  to  God's  people  is 
not  merely  the  gratitude  we  may  owe  them  for 
their  kindness,  or  the  good-will  we  bear  to  them 
in  common  with  others,  but  it  is  especially  the 
image  of  God  that  is  in  them.  We  love  them 
in  the  Lord.  It  is  loving  them  because  they 
are  disciples.  One  Christian  loves  another 
chiefly  because  he  has  a  likeness  to  Christ,  and 
lives  for  the  glory  of  Christ. 

Nothing  can  damp  the  ardor  of  true  love. 
For  a  while  Joseph  of  Arimathea  was  a  disci- 
ple secretly,  for  fear  of  the  Jews;  yet  at  the 


LOVE  TO  THE  BEETHKEN.  401 

crucifixion  he  goes  and  begs  the  body  of  Jesus. 
The  terrible  persecution  which  broke  out  three 
or  four  years  after  Christ's  resurrection,  could 
not  so  intimidate  the  church  but  that  "devout 
men  carried  Stephen  to  his  burial,  and  made 
great  lamentation  over  him.''  Acts  8  :  2.  Try- 
ing occasions  do  commonly  draw  out  this  pious 
affection  in  a  surprising  manner.  My  brother 
in  sorrow  is  still  my  brother,  and  the  heavier 
his  grief,  the  more  fitness  is  there  in  my  lov- 
ing him  and  refusing  to  let  him  go  unnoticed. 
Oharnock  says,  "At  the  last  day,  the  trial  of 
men  is  by  their  acts  towards  God^s  people  in 
time  of  their  persecutions."  And  in  proof,  he 
refers  to  Christ's  account  of  the  final  judgment 
as  given  in  Matthew  25.  He  is  right.  If  we 
are  ashamed  of  the  bonds  of  God's  people,  it  is 
idle  for  us  to  pretend  to  love  them  after  a 
godly  sort  when  they  are  in  prosperity. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  Christian  relig- 
ion, nothing  was  more  remarkable  than  the 
love  which  one  disciple  bore  to  another.  This 
was  noticed  by  friends  and  foes.  Lucian  scoff- 
ingly  says  of  the  Christians  of  his  time,  "Their 
Lawgiver  has  persuaded  them  that  they  are  all 
brethren."  Another  heathen  says,  "Christians 
do  love  one  another  before  they  are  acquaint- 


4:02  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

ed,  if  they  but  know  that  they  are  Christians." 
Indeed  it  was  often  said  among  the  heathen, 
*'See  how  these  Christians  love  one  another, 
and  how  ready  they  are  to  die  for  each  other. '^ 
Tertullian  says,  ''This  surprised  them  beyond 
measure,  since  they  are  accustomed  to  hate 
one  another — that  one  man  should  be  ready  to 
die  for  another." 

The  proper  proofs  of  our  love  to  the  breth- 
ren are  found  in  our  making  common  cause 
with  them  in  all  their  sufferings  for  righteous- 
ness' sake,  in  being  very  slow  to  take  offence 
at  their  conduct,  in  abhorring  all  bigotry  and 
haughty  exclusiveness,  in  embracing  all  the 
friends  of  God  of  every  rank  and  condition,  of 
every  name  and  nation,  and  especially  in  lov- 
ing most  fervently  those  who  give  the  highest 
proof  of  having  been  born  again;  for  this 
brotherly  love  supposes  that  our  brethren  have 
their  hearts  drawn  out  to  us  just  in  proportion 
as  they  see  us  wear  the  image  and  manifest  the 
spirit  of  Jesus  Christ. 

True  love  to  our  brother  will  make  no  man 
a  bigot.  John  Foster  thus  describes  a  bigot : 
"He  sees  religion  not  as  a  sphere,  but  a  line, 
and  it  is  a  line  in  which  he  is  moving.  He  is 
like  an  African  buffalo — sees  right  forward, 


LOYE  TO  THE  BEETHEEN.  403 

but  notliing  on  the  right  or  left.  He  would 
not  perceive  a  legion  of  angels  or  devils  at  the 
distance  of  ten  yards  on  the  one  side  or  on  the 
other.'' 

This  love  to  Christ's  people  is  among  the 
best  evidences  of  a  renewed  state.  ''We 
know  that  we  have  passed  from  death  unto 
life,  because  we  love  the  brethren.  He  that 
loveth  not  his  brother,  abide th  in  death." 
1  John  3  :  14.  "The  more  believers  love  God, 
the  more  they  will  love  one  another ;  as  lines, 
the  nearer  they  are  to  the  centre,  the  nearer 
they  are  to  one  another."* 

Perhaps  there  is  no  method  of  teaching  the 
true  nature  of  any  grace  so  well  as  by  exam- 
ple. Take  then  for  your  consideration  and 
imitation  the  case  of  John,  the  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved.  Respectable  historians  say  that, 
after  the  ascension  of  our  Lord,  he  remained 
in  Judea  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  and  was  pres- 
ent at  the  Council  at  Jerusalem.  After  that  he 
spent  most  of  his  time  in  Asia  Minor,  and  par- 
ticularly at  Ephesus.  He  survived  all  the 
other  apostles,  and  lived  to  be  a  hundred  years 
old.  He  has  been  celebrated  for  two  thousand 
years  as  a  very  loving  brother.     Yet  his  love 

*  Charnock. 


404  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

was  not  blind  and  fond.  It  did  not  make  him 
pretend  brotherly  love  to  those  enemies  of 
righteousness  who  had  crept  into  the  church 
under  false  pretences.  '' Charity  rejoiceth  in 
the  truth."  "It  rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity." 
When  John  lived  at  Ephesus,  he  went  to  bathe, 
and  seeing  in  the  bath  a  celebrated  heretic, 
who  had  denied  the  divinity  of  our  Lord,  he 
hastily  retired,  saying,  "Let  us  flee,  lest  the 
bath  should  fall  while  this  enemy  of  the  truth 
is  within."  This  story  is  given  by  Iren^us, 
who  had  it  from  those  to  whom  Polycarp,  the 
disciple  of  John,  had  told  it.  John  was  now 
the  only  living  apostle.  Cerinthus  and  Ebion 
were  industriously  spreading  the  contagion  of 
their  false  doctrines,  denying  the  Lord  that 
bought  them.  John  loved  his  Lord,  he  loved 
the  souls  of  men,  he  loved  his  Christian  breth- 
ren too  well  to  favor  or  seem  to  favor  heresy, 
by  voluntarily  companying  with  the  enemies 
of  his  Lord  and  Master  in  any  way  that  seemed 
to  sanction  their  errors.  John  practised  as  he 
taught.  In  his  second  epistle  he  says  to  the 
elect  lady,  "If  there  come  any  unto  you,  and 
bring  not  this  doctrine,  receive  him  not  into 
your  house,  neither  bid  him  God-speed ;  for  he 
that  biddeth  him  God-speed  is  partaker  of  his 


LOVE  TO  THE  BEETHREN.  405 

evil  deeds."  2  John  10,  11 .  John  wonld  have 
us  cease  from  the  instruction  that  causeth  to 
err.  His  threatening  language  concerning 
Diotrephes,  in  his  third  epistle,  verses  9,  10, 
shows  that  he  never  regarded  it  as  proof  of 
brotherly  love  to  permit  bad  men  to  destroy 
or  even  disturb  the  flock  of  Christ. 

It  is  stated  that  in  a  tour  through  the 
churches  he  became  much  interested  in  a 
young  man,  who  was  soon  brought  into  the 
Christian  church.  Yery  soon  the  young  man 
fell  into  temptation,  was  much  in  evil  company, 
became  idle,  intemperate,  and  dishonest,  final- 
ly heading  a  band  of  robbers.  John,  hearing 
of  the  sad  change,  went  near  his  haunts,  and 
allowed  himself  to  be  taken  by  the  robbers. 
"  Bring  me,"  says  he,  "  to  your  captain."  As 
soon  as  the  leader  saw  John  coming,  and  knew 
who  he  was,  he  was  filled  with  shame,  and  fled. 
The  apostle  pursued  him,  crying,  "My  son, 
why  fleest  thou  from  thy  old  and  unarmed 
father?  Fear  not;  even  yet  there  is  hope  of 
salvation.  Believe  me,  Christ  has  sent  me." 
The  young  man  stopped,  trembled,  and  wept 
bitterly.  The  apostle  prevailed  on  him  to 
forsake  his  sins,  brought  him  back  to  the  soci- 
ety of  the  Christians,  and  had  the  pleasure  of 


406  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

seeing  him  leading  a  pious  and  blameless  life. 
"Brethren,  if  any  of  you  do  err  from  the 
truth,  and  one  convert  him  ;  let  him  know,  that 
he  ^vhich  converteth  the  sinner  from  the  error 
of  his  way  shall  save  a  soul  from  death,  and 
shall  hide  a  multitude  of  sins.*'  James  5  :  20. 
Brotherly  love  never  willingly  leaves  one  to 
perish  in  his  ignorance,  errors,  or  vices.  It 
goes  after  the  lost  sheep.  It  pities  the  wan- 
derer. 

When  John  was  very  old,  and  unable  even 
to  walk  to  the  places  of  public  worship,  he  was 
still  carried  to  the  Christian  assemblies,  where, 
when  he  could  not  say  much,  he  at  least  cried 
out,  "Children,  love  one  another."  "Being 
asked  why  he  told  them  but  one  thing,  he  an- 
swered that  nothing  else  w^as  needed."  The 
truth  of  this  narrative  is,  I  think,  generally 
admitted.  And  surely  it  presents  to  the  mind 
one  of  the  most  lovely  examj^les  and  lessons  of 
brotherly  kindness  that  we  have  on  record. 
Who  can  refrain  from  expressing  his  admira- 
tion of  so  exalted  worth  ?  The  Lord  grant 
that  we  all  may  love  as  John  loved. 

In  this  subject  there  is  furnished  us  very 
great  hel[)  in  the  work  of  self-examination. 
Love  to  the  brethren  is  as  essential  a  mark  of 


LOVE  TO  THE  BRETHKEN.  407 

true  piety  as  is  faith.  So  teaches  God's  word. 
' '  This  is  his  commandment,  that  we  should  be- 
lieve on  the  name  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  and 
love  one  another,  as  he  gave  us  command- 
ment." 1  John  3  :  23.  It  is  not  easy  for  us 
to  press  this  matter  too  much  on  our  own  atten- 
tion. Do  we  love  the  disciples  of  Christ  be- 
cause they  learn  of  him  and  are  taught  of  God  ? 
Do  we  study  to  promote  their  usefulness,  com- 
fort, and  honor  out  of  a  special  delight  in  their 
character  ?  When  we  see  a  brother  or  a  sis- 
ter naked  and  destitute  of  daily  food,  do  we 
say,  Depart  in  peace  ;  be  ye  warmed  and  filled  ; 
and  yet  decline  to  give  them  those  things  which 
are  needful  to  the  body  ?  Do  we  put  away 
from  us  all  bitterness  and  wrath  and  anger 
and  clamor  and  evil-speaking,  with  all  malice  ? 
Are  we  kind  one  to  another,  tender-hearted, 
forgiving  one  another,  even  as  God  for  Christ's 
sake  hath  forgiven  us  ?  Do  we  walk  in  love  ? 
Do  we  sympathize  with  John  Wesley  in  his 
prayer,  "Lord,  if  I  must  dispute,  let  it  be 
with  the  children  of  the  devil;  let  me  be  at 
peace  with  thy  children?''  Do  we  limit  our 
warm  charities  to  those  of  our  own  commun- 
ion :  or  do  we  fervently  love  all  who  love  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  ? 


408  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

The  motives  presented  in  Scripture  for 
Christians  loving  one  another  are  such  as  these : 

1.  In  the  world  they  have  tribulation. 
They  weep  and  lament  and  are  sorrowful. 
John  16:20.  To  him  that  is  afflicted,  pity 
should  be  shown.  To  him  who  is  persecuted  by 
the  enemies  of  Grod,  great  friendship  should  be 
manifested  by  the  friends  of  God,  lest  his  sor- 
rows should  overwhelm  him. 

2.  The  world  hates  God's  people,  and  noth- 
ing but  the  love  of  the  brethren  can  compen- 
sate for  so  much  malignancy  from  others. 
Christ  said,  "If  the  world  hate  you,  ye  know 
that  it  hated  me  before  it  hated  you.  If  ye 
were  of  the  world,  the  world  would  love  his 
own ;  but  because  ye  are  not  of  the  world,  but 
I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world,  therefore 
the  world  hateth  you."  John  15  :  18,  19.  All 
this  is  spoken  by  Christ  to  enforce  brotherly 
love. 

3.  Love  to  the  brethren  is  to  the  world  a 
powerful  proof  of  the  divinity  of  the  Christian 
religion.  Jesus  says,  "By  this  shall  all  men 
know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  je  have  love 
one  to  another.'^  John  13  :  35.  No  other 
founder  of  a  sect  or  religion  ever  made  love  a 
test  and  mark  of  beloiiolno;  to  him.     And  it  is 


LOVE  TO  THE  BEETHKEN.  409 

a  fact  fully  sustained  by  cliurch  history,  tli£ft 
whenever  the  gospel  has  unusual  power  over 
men's  minds,  it  is  always  preceded  or  accom- 
panied by  much  love  to  the  brethren. 

4.  We  are  urged  to  brotherly  love  by  the 
sweet  and  awful  authority  of  Jesus  Christ:  "A 
new  COMMANDMENT  give  /  unto  you,  that  ye 
love  one  another.''  Even  advice  from  Christ 
we  should  be  bound  to  follow;  but  his  com- 
mand none  may  innocently  forget.  "These 
things  I  command  you,  that  ye  love  one  anoth- 
er." John  15  :  17.  To  rebel  against  such 
authority  must  be  truly  perilous. 

5.  The  love  of  Christ  towards  us  should 
constrain  us  to  love  our  brethren.  Christ 
himself  urged  this  consideration :  ' '  As  I  have 
loved  you,  even  so  do  ye  love  one  another." 
Let  us  love  our  brethren,  not  for  our  own 
sakes,  nor  chiefly  for  their  own  sakes,  but  for 
Christ's  sake.  This  consideration  binds,  and 
is  felt  to  be  powerful  by  all  who  love  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  *'Let  brotherly  love  con- 
tinue."    Heb.  13:1. 

In  this  and  the  three  preceding  chapters, 
the  subject  of  love  has  been  brought  before 
the  attention  of  the  reader.  A  more  heavenly 
theme  could  not  be  found.    God  is  love ;  heav- 

Vital  Godliness.  18 


410  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

en  is  love.  Christ  is  love  incarnate;  religion 
is  love  in  exercise.  Nothing  is  of  more  im- 
portance to  any  one's  happiness,  usefulness,  or 
salvation  than  that  he  be  filled  with  love. 
True,  men  are  not  saved  for  their  love,  but 
they  cannot  be  saved  without  it.  Nor  can 
any  mortal  utter  a  kinder  wish  for  all  to  whom 
he  wishes  well,  than  to  say  with  Paul,  "This 
I  pray,  that  your  love  may  abound  yet  more 
and  more  in  knowledge  and  in  all  judgment; 
that  ye  may  approve  things  that  are  excellent; 
that  ye  may  be  sincere  and  without  offence  till 
the  day  of  Christ;  being  filled  with  the  fruits 
of  righteousness,  which  are  by  Jesus  Christ, 
unto  the  glory  and  praise  of  God."  Phil. 
1  : 9-11. 


PEACE.  411 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

PEACE. 

Peace  is  the  opposite  of  war,  persecution, 
temptation,  condemnation,  alarm,  tumult,  strife, 
contention,  controversy,  quarrelling. 

In  the  Scriptures,  the  word  ])eace  relates  to 
several  different  things.  By  nature  we  are  all 
enemies  to  God,  and  by  wicked  works  we  evince 
and  strengthen  our  aversion  to  God  and  holi- 
ness. But  "being  justified  by  faith,  we  have 
peace  with  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  Rom.  5:1.  By  this  peace  with  God 
we  are  freed  from  condemnation.  We  are  no 
longer  hostile  to  God,  nor  he  to  us.  We  no 
more  contend  with  the  Almighty,  nor  he  with 
us.  Christ  is  our  Surety,  our  Sacrifice,  our 
Peace.  "Thorns  grow  everywhere,  and  from 
all  things  below ;  and  from  a  soul  transplanted 
out  of  itself  into  the  root  of  Jesse,  peace  grows 
everywhere  too  from  Him  who  is  called  Our 
Peace,  and  whom  we  still  find  the  more  to  be 
so  the  more  entirely  we  live  in  him,  being  dead 
to  the  world  and  self  and  all  things  besides 


412  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

him.'^  The  repose  of  the  soul  in  its  God  and 
Saviour  is  wonderful.  "Thou  wilt  keep  him 
in  perfect  peace  whose  mind  is  stayed  on  thee ; 
li>ecause  he  trusteth  in  thee."  Isa.  26  :  3.  This 
"peace  of  God  passeth  all  understanding." 
Phil.  4:7.  In  its  basis  and  in  its  effects  no 
mortal  has  adequate  conceptions  of  its  richness 
as  a  blessing  from  God.  "When  he  giveth 
quietness,  who  then  can  make  trouble?"  said 
Job,  chap.  34  :  29.  And  Jesus  Christ  himself 
said,  "Peace  I  leave  with  you,  my  peace  I 
give  unto  you :  not  as  the  world  giveth  give  I 
unto  you."  John  14  :  27.  Nothing  can  finally 
destroy  this  peace.  "Who  is  he  that  condemn- 
eth  ?  It  is  Christ  that  died,  jevi  rather,  that  is 
risen  again,  who  is  even  at  the  right  hand  of 
God,  who  also  maketh  intercession  for  us." 
Eom.  8  :  34. 

This  is  one  of  God's  richest  blessings.  It 
is  the  sum  and  beginning  of  all  mercies.  It  is 
a  pledge  that  we  shall  never  perish.  This 
counsel  of  peace  is  between  God  and  every 
soul  that  flees  to  Jesus.  "The  chastisement 
of  our  peace  was  upon  him."  Isa.  53  :  5.  By 
Him  we  have  access  to  God.  We  are  entitled 
to  call  him  our  Father  and  our  God.  God  is 
in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself, 


PEACE.  413 

not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them. 
When  God  thus  pardons  and  accepts  us,  every 
creature  in  the  universe,  whose  friendship  can 
do  us  permanent  good,  is  made  to  be  on  our 
side.  The  angels  become  ministering  spirits 
to  aid  and  befriend  us  as  God  shall  commis- 
sion them.  The  stars  in  their  courses  no  lon- 
ger fight  against  us.  He  has  even  made  a  cov- 
enant for  his  chosen  ''with  the  beasts  of  the 
field,  and  with  the  fowls  of  heaven,  and  with 
the  creeping  things  of  the  ground."  Hos.  2:18. 
We  may  therefore  speak  boldly  to  all  who 
have  made  peace  with  God  by  Jesus  Christ, 
and  say,  "All  things  are  yours;  whether  Paul, 
or  Apollos,  or  Cephas,  or  the  world,  or  life,  or 
death,  or  things  present,  or  things  to  come :  all 
are  yours;  and  ye  are  Christ's,  and  Christ  is 
God's.''  1  Cor.  3  :  21-23.  Paul  seven  times 
uses  a  phrase  nowhere  else  found  in  Scripture. 
It  is  this,  "  The  God  of  peace."  And  surely  a 
more  striking  delineation  of  the  blessed  char- 
acter of  God  could  not  be  given  in  so  few 
words,  unless  we  except  those  words  of  John, 
''God  is  love."  Let  every  man  "acquaint 
himself  with  God,  and  be  at  peace."  Job 
22  :  21.  So  also  our  Saviour  is  "The  Prince 
of  peace."   In  him  we  have  reconciliation  with 


414:  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

God  and  all  other  good  things.  He  was  sent 
' '  to  guide  our  feet  into  the  way  of  peace."  Luke 
1  :  79.  His  " kingdom  is  not  meat  and  drink; 
but  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost.''  Rom.  14  :  17.  So  "  to  be  spir- 
itually-minded is  life  and  peace."  Rom.  8  :  6. 
And  so  also  no  greater  blessing  could  be  asked 
on  others  than  this:  ''  Grace  be  unto  you,  and 
peace,  from  him  which  is,  and  which  was,  and 
which  is  to  come ;  and  from  the  seven  spirits 
which  are  before  his  throne ;  and  from  Jesus 
Christ,  who  is  the  faithful  Witness,  and  the 
First-begotten  of  the  dead,  and  the  Prince  of 
the  kings  of  the  earth."     Rev.  1:4,  5. 

From  peace  with  God  through  Christ  nat- 
urally flows  peace  of  conscience.  This  is  a 
vast  treasure.  Nothing  can  compensate  the 
want  of  it.  Nothing  can  make  us  happy  with- 
out it.  In  the  angels  above,  peace  of  con- 
science is  the  fruit  of  innocence.  In  man  it  is 
the  purchase  of  a  Saviour's  blood.  We  must 
have  our  hearts  sprinkled  from  an  evil  con- 
science, else  the  sting  will  remain  and  rankle 
for  ever.  Heb.  10  :  22.  Yea,  we  must  have 
our  consciences  purged  from  dead  works,  or 
we  never  can  acceptably  serve  the  living  God. 
Heb.  9:14.     If  we  are  ever  to  be  made  per- 


PEACE.  415 

feet  as  pertaining  to  the  conscience,  it  cannot 
be  ''without  blood.''  Heb.  9  :  7,  9.  The  blood 
of  Christ  ''turns  our  fears  into  hopes,  and  our 
sorrows  into  songs ;  it  settles  the  agitations  of 
our  spirits ;  it  silences  troubles  in  us ;  it  is  a 
ground  of  peace  to  us.  That  which  hath  been 
a  sweet  savor  to  pacify  God,  wants  not  a  savor 
to  appease  our  consciences."  The  great  mis- 
ery of  the  wicked  is  that  to  them  ' '  there  is  no 
peace."  Isa.  48  :  22,  and  57  :  21.  "  The  way 
of  peace  they  know  not."  Isa.  59  :  8;  Rom. 
3:17.  Conscience  of  sin  remaining,  no  man 
can  be  otherwise  than  a  poor  trembling,  self- 
condemned  creature.  Nor  can  he  by  harden- 
ing his  heart  erect  any  strong  bulwarks  against 
the  sudden  invasion  of  extreme  terrors. 

This  peace  of  conscience  is  often  interrupt- 
ed by  our  sins  and  follies.  When  worldliness 
takes  the  place  of  a  tender  walk ;  when  prin- 
ciple is  impinged  on;  when  practice  is  made 
to  conform  to  temptation;  when  time  seems 
more  important  than  eternity;  then  we  may 
know  that  sooner  or  later  there  will  be  an  up- 
roar in  our  consciences.  But  "great  peace  have 
they  which  love  thy  law."  Psa.  119  :  165.  It 
is  in  vain  for  any  one  to  hope  for  a  blessing 
when  he  is  saying,  "I  shall  have  peace,  though 


416  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

I  walk  in  the  imagination  of  my  heart."  Dent. 
29:19. 

A  third  kind  of  peace  is  when  God  disjDOses 
our  fellow- men  to  regard  us  with  so  much'favor 
as  to  let  us  alone,  not  to  tease,  torment,  perse- 
cute, or  make  war  upon  us,  but  to  think,  speak 
and  act  in  a  friendly  way  towards  us.  This  is 
a  great  blessing,  and  when  it  is  made  sure  to 
us  we  ought  to  give  hearty  thanks  to  God  for 
it,  for  he  is  its  author.  ''When  a  man's  ways 
please  the  Lord,  he  maketh  even  his  enemies 
to  be  at  peace  with  him."  Prov.  16:7.  Thus 
for  a  long  time  Solomon  "had  peace  on  all 
sides  round  about  him."     1  Kings  4  :  24. 

It  is  true  that  this  peace  is  not,  like  the 
others,  essential  to  our  piety  or  our  happiness. 
Jesus  Christ  said,  "Think  not  that  I  am  come  to 
send  peace  on  earth :  I  came  not  to  send  peace, 
but  a  sword."  Matt.  10  :  34.  And  the  effect 
of  true  piety  under  all  dispensations  has  been 
to  provoke  the  malice  of  wicked  men,  though 
oftentimes  it  is  restrained  by  the  good  provi- 
dence of  God.  He  turns  men's  hearts  whith- 
ersoever he  will. 

But  the  word  peace  is  also  applied  to  our 
habits,  pursuits,  and  dispositions  towards  oth- 
ers.    "Follow  peace  with  all  men."     Each  of 


PEACE.  417 

the  other  kinds  of  peace  is  a  rich  blessing. 
This  is  a  weighty  duty.     On  this  point  the 
Scriptures  are  very  clear  and  full.     Thus  even 
to  Nabal  David  sent  this  message;  "Peace  be 
both  to  thee,  and  peace  be  to  thy  house,  and 
peace  be  unto  all  that  thou  hast."      1  Sam. 
25  :  6.     So  Jeremiah  sent  a  letter  to  all  his 
brethren,  captives  in  Babylon,  saying,  ''Build 
ye  houses,  and  dwell  in  them ;  and  plant  gar- 
dens, and  eat  the  fruit  of  them ; . . .  and  seek 
the  peace  of  the  city  whither  I  have  caused 
you  to  be  carried  away  captive,  and  pray  unto 
the  Lord  for  it :  for  in  the  peace  thereof  shall 
ye  have  peace."     Jer.  29  : 5,  7.     The  circum- 
stances of  the  people  to  whom  this  message  was 
sent  were  such  that,  if  any  thing  in  the  shape 
of  wrong  could  have  justified  revenge,  they 
surely  would  have  been  at  liberty  to  seek  the 
ruin  of  the  city  that  had  dealt  so  proudly  and 
cruelly  with  them.     But  God,  by  the  mouth  of 
his  prophet,  condemns  all  such  proceedings, 
and  requires  a  line  of  conduct  quite  the  oppo- 
site.    The  prophet  delivers  his  message  in  an 
extreme  case,  and  yet  with  the  utmost  clear- 
ness and  consistency  with  other  parts  of  God's 
word.     Paul  also  says,  "Let  us  follow  after  the 
things  which  make  for  peace."     Rom.  14  :  19. 
18* 


418  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

'*  God  hath  called  us  to  peace."  1  Cor.  7 :15. 
"The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  peace."  Gal.  5 :  22. 
''Live  in  peace."  2  Cor.  13  :11.  ''Endeavor 
to  keep  the  unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace."  Eph.  4:3.  He  also  commands  us  to 
pray  for  our  rulers,  ' '  that  we  may  lead  a  quiet 
and  peaceable  life,  in  all  godliness  and  honesty." 
1  Tim.  2:2.  The  apostle  James  also  says,  "The 
wisdom  that  is  from  above  is  first  pure,  then 
peaceable;"  and,  "the  fruit  of  righteousness 
is  sown  in  peace  of  them  that  make  peace." 
James  3:17,  18.  Our  blessed  Saviour  also 
said  to  his  disciples,  "Have  peace  one  with 
another."  Mark  9  :  50.  So  that  there  is  not 
left  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  respecting  the  bind- 
ing obligation  upon  all  men  to  have  and  to 
manifest  peaceable  dispositions  at  all  times. 
Nor  should  we  ever  forget  that  the  duty  is 
enjoined  with  great  frequency  and  solemnity. 
We  should  therefore  address  ourselves  to  this 
with  much  seriousness  and  earnestness.  Nor 
are  we  at  liberty  to  limit  our  endeavors  after 
peace  to  friendly  relations.  We  must  "follow 
peace  with  all  men."  We  are  not  at  liberty 
to  confine  our  efforts  in  this  behalf  to  a  few, 
and  those  of  our  own  circle  or  party.  We 
must  let  our  endeavors  extend  to  all  with  whom 


PEACE.  419 

we  have  dealings.  " If  a  stranger  sojourn  with 
you  in  your  land,  ye  shall  not  vex  him."  Lev. 
19:33. 

What  then  is  enjoined  on  us  in  maintain- 
ing peace  with  our  fellow-men  ?  The  answer 
is,  that  first  of  all  we  are  bound  to  entertain 
peaceable  and  friendly  thoughts  respecting  all 
men.  In  the  heart  is  the  seat  of  every  virtue. 
*' As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he." 
If  men  be  not  in  their  temper  and  disposition 
peaceable,  it  is  certain  that  they  do  in  their 
hearts  violate  the  whole  spirit  of  the  gospel. 
Nor  will  it  be  possible  for  such  to  make  their 
outward  conduct  conform  to  the  scriptural 
standard.  "  It  is  hard  to  act  a  part  long  ;  for 
where  truth  is  not  at  the  bottom,  nature  will 
always  be  endeavoring  to  return,  and  will  peep 
out  and  betray  herself  one  time  or  other." 

Another  thing  to  be  done  in  fulfilment  of 
our  duty  is,  to  speak  peaceably.  The  peace 
of  neighborhoods  is  often  destroyed  by  words. 
''Grievous  words  stir  up  anger."  Prov.  15:1. 
''Where  no  wood  is,  the  fire  goeth  out;  so 
where  there  is  no  talebearer,  the  strife  ceas- 
eth."  Prov.  26  :  20.  "  The  words  of  a  tale- 
bearer are  as  wounds."  Prov.  18  :  8.  "Ren- 
der not  railing  for  railing."     1  Pet.  3:9.     Paul 


420  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

warns  us  against  ''strifes  of  words.''  1  Tim. 
6 :  5  ;  2  Tim.  2:14.  Eash  words  may  have  as 
ill  an  effect  as  those  which  are  the  fruit  of  a 
truly  malignant  design  in  destroying  the  peace 
of  families  and  of  neighborhoods.  "A  whis- 
perer separateth  chief  friends,"  Prov.  16:28; 
and  "an  angry  man  stirreth  up  strife."  Prov. 
29:22.  We  cannot  therefore  be  too  guarded 
in  our  speech.  ''Death  and  life  are  in  the 
power  of  the  tongue."  Prov.  18:21.  And 
every  prudent  man  will  pray,  "Set  a  watch, 
0  Lord,  before  my  mouth;  keep  the  door  of 
my  lips."  Psa.  141 :  3.  A  good  man  has  said, 
"Before  we  allow  ourselves  to  find  fault  with 
any  person  behind  his  back,  we  should  ask 
ourselves  three  questions:  1.  Is  it  true?  2.  Is 
it  kind?  3.  Is  it  necessary?"  A  little  heart- 
searching,  even  a  little  reflection  before  a  hard 
speech,  would  effectually  prevent  much  misery. 
John  Newton  says,  "In  mixed  conversa- 
tion, it  is  a  good  rule  to  say  nothing,  without 
a  just  cause,  to  the  disadvantage  of  others." 
Again,  "I  was  once  in  a  large  company,  where 

very  severe  things  were  spoken  of  Mr.  W , 

when  one  person  seasonably  observed,  that 
though  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  effect  conver- 
sion and  edification  by  a  variety  of  means,  he 


PEACE.  421 

had  never  known  anybody  convinced  of  error 
by  what  was  said  of  him  behind  his  back.  This 
was  about  thirteen  years  ago,  and  it  has  been 
on  my  mind  a  useful  hint  ever  since.'' 

Another  matter  required  of  us  is,  to  act 
peaceably.  "A  man  that  hath  friends  must 
show  himself  friendly."  Prov.  18  :  24.  And 
here  the  Scriptures  furnish  us  both  with  rules 
and  with  examples.  Take  the  case  of  Abram 
and  Lot,  the  uncle  and  the  nephew.  These 
two  great  men  had  each  many  flocks  and  herds 
and  tents.  '^  And  the  land  was  not  able  to  bear 
them,  that  they  might  dwell  together :  for  their 
substance  was  great,  so  that  they  could  not 
dwell  together.  And  there  was  a  strife  be- 
tween the  herdmen  of  Abram's  cattle  and  the 
herdmen  of  Lot's  cattle. . .  And  Abram  said 
unto  Lot,  Let  there  be  no  strife,  I  pray  thee,  be- 
tween me  and  thee,  and  between  my  herdmen 
and  thy  herdmen  ;  for  we  be  brethren.  Is  not 
the  whole  land  before  thee  ?  Separate  thyself, 
I  pray  thee,  from  me  :  if  thou  wilt  take  the 
left  hand,  then  I  will  go  to  the  right ;  or  if 
thou  depart  to  the  right  hand,  then  I  will  go  to 
the  left."  Gen.  13  :  6-9.  Strife  can  hardly 
subsist  where  such  a  telnper  is  manifested. 
There  is  no  fuel  to  keep  the  fire  burning.     The 


422  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

wisdom  of  the  course  adopted  by  Abram  was 
conspicuous  in  these  things:  1.  In  keeping 
separate  interests  from  clashing.  It  is  a  great 
trial  when  good  men  are  so  situated  that  they 
cannot  avoid  collision  of  interests.  Here  is  an 
example.  Let  them  follow  it.  2.  Abram  re- 
fused to  listen  to  the  stories  of  his  servants. 
They  seem  to  have  been  men  ready  for  strife. 
It  is  hard,  but  it  is  wise,  to  avoid  mingling 
ourselves  with  the  quarrels  into  which  our  ser- 
vants get  with  others.  3.  Abram  showed  his 
wisdom  by  leaving  all  his  interests  in  the  hands 
of  God.  If  we  will  mind  his  glory,  he  will 
mind  our  welfare. 

The  last  generation  was  adorned  by  one 
who,  in  some  respects,  and  especially  in  faith 
and  peaceableness,  particularly  in  his  latter 
days,  was  a  child  of  Abraham.  I  refer  to  the 
pious  Simeon  of  Cambridge,  England,  who  said, 
''  The  longer  I  live,  the  more  I  feel  the  impor- 
tance of  adhering  to  the  rules  which  I  have  laid 
down  for  myself  in  relation  to  the  following 
subjects : 

1.  ''To  hear  as  little  as  possible  what  is  to 
the  prejudice  of  others. 

2.  ''To  believe  nothing  of  the  kind  till  I 
am  absolutely  forced  to  it. 


PEACE.  423 

3.  ''Never  to  drink  into  the  spirit  of  one 
who  circulates  an  ill  report. 

4.  "  Always  to  moderate  as  far  as  I  can  the 
unkindness  which  is  expressed  towards  others. 

5.  "Always  to  believe  that,  if  the  other 
side  were  heard,  a  very  different  account  would 
be  given  of  the  matter. 

"  I  consider  love  as  wealth ;  and  as  I  would 
resist  a  man  who  should  come  to  rob  my  house, 
so  would  I  a  man  who  would  weaken  my  re- 
gard for  any  human  being.  I  consider  too, 
that  persons  are  cast  in  different  moulds ;  and 
that  to  ask  myself.  What  should  /  do  in  that 
person's  situation  ?  is  not  a  just  mode  of  judg- 
ing. I  must  not  expect  a  man  that  is  naturally 
cold  and  reserved  to  act  as  one  that  is  naturally 
warm  and  affectionate ;  and  I  think  it  a  great 
evil  that  people  do  not  make  more  allowances 
for  each  other  in  this  particular.  I  think  relig- 
ious people  are  too  little  attentive  to  these  con- 
siderations." 

It  is  hardly  possible  that  a  man  honestly 
holding  and  practising  such  views  should  fail 
to  be  esteemed  a  good  man,  and  in  a  time  of 
freedom  from  legal  persecution,  should  fail  to 
enjoy  general  quietness  of  life  and  the  respect 
of  all  good  men  who  know  him. 


424  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

One  of  the  most  serious  liinderances  to  the 
peace  of  many  men  and  many  communities  is 
found  in  occasional  outbursts  of  bad  temper. 
Some  men  are  constitutionally  moody.  They 
are  not,  and  without  a  miracle  they  could  not 
be,  uniform.  Their  feelings  vary  with  the 
wind,  with  the  state  of  their  stomachs,  and 
with  other  mutable  things.  Others  are  ner- 
vous, and  are  easily  provoked  to  tears  or  to 
passion.  Some  are  naturally  choleric  and  ex- 
citable. Many  from  early  infancy  have  had  bad 
precepts  and  worse  examples  held  up  before 
them.  Some  are  fretted  and  crossed  in  child- 
hood and  youth,  until  they  are  like  the  trained 
whelps  of  the  tiger.  All  this  is  to  be  greatly 
deplored;  for  "a  wrathful  man  stirreth  up 
strife."  Proverbs  15  :  18.  Indeed,  the  first 
bursts  of  passion  are  often  like  coals  thrown 
among  shavings.  There  is  no  telling  what  will 
be  the  end  of  the  mischief  done. 

It  would  vastly  conduce  to  peace  if  men 
could  be  induced  to  guard  against  all  causes, 
occasions,  and  beginnings  of  discord.  "The 
beginning  of  strife  is  as  when  one  letteth  out 
water :  therefore  leave  off  contention,  before  it 
be  meddled  with."  Prov.  17  :  14.  "Nip  the 
evil  in  the  bud,"  is  one  of  the  best  rules. 


PEACE.  425 

Nor  do  we  follow  peace  when  we  allow  our- 
selves to  be  made  parties  to  contests  which  do 
not  concern  us.  "He  that  passeth  by,,  and 
meddleth  with  a  strife  not  belonging  to  him,  is 
like  one  that  taketh  a  dog  by  the  ears.''  Prov. 
26:17. 

One  of  the  greatest  disturbers  of  peace  is 
pride.  I(  is  sure  to  be  insolent.  It  struts, 
and  boasts,  and  vapors,  and  provokes  others. 
"He  that  is  of  a  proud  heart  stirreth  up  strife.'' 
Prov.  28:25.  "Only  by  pride  cometh  con- 
tention." Prov.  13:10.  There  is  a  "wrath 
of  pride."     Prov.  21  :  24. 

Ambition  also  begets  many  contests.  There 
never  was  a  more  unhappy  state  of  feeling  in 
the  family  of  our  Saviour  than  when  "there 
was  a  strife  among  them  which  of  them  should 
be  greatest."     Luke  22  :  24. 

It  would  greatly  conduce  to  the  advance- 
ment of  peace,  if  men  could  be  induced  to  put 
a  just  estimate  on  its  value.  In  the  eyes  of  a 
wise  and  good  man,  it  is  always  of  great  price. 
In  Scripture  it  is  mentioned  side  by  side  with 
the  most  excellent  things.  By  one  prophet 
God  says,  "Love  the  truth  and  peace."  Zech. 
8:19.  By  one  apostle  he  says,  "Follow  peace 
with  all  men,  and  holiness,  without  which  no 


426  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

man  shall  see  the  Lord."  Heb.  12:14.  So 
that  if  truth  and  holiness  are  of  great  price  in 
the  eyes  of  Grod  and  good  men,  so  is  peace. 
In  his  old  age  John  Newton  wrote,  ''Peace 
and  holiness  are  the  peculiar  characteristics  of 
a  disciple  of  Jesus;  they  are  the  richest  part 
of  the  enjoyments  of  heaven ;  .  .  .  and  they  are 
more  inseparably  connected  between  them- 
selves than  some  of  us  are  aware  of.  The  lon- 
ger I  live,  the  more  I  see  of  the  vanity  and 
sinfulness  of  our  unchristian  disputes;  they 
eat  up  the  very  vitals  of  religion." 

Our  great  guaranty  against  a  disturbed, 
distracted  existence  is  to  be  found  in  God 
alone.  He  is  our  refuge  as  well  as  our 
strength.  Thus  says  David,  "Thou  shalt  hide 
them  in  the  secret  of  thy  presence  from  the 
pride  of  men ;  thou  shalt  keep  them  secretly  in 
a  pavilion  from  the  strife  of  tongues."  Psa. 
31 :  20. 

Nor  can  we  easily  overestimate  the  evils 
that  flow  from  a  state  of  carnal  strife  between 
man  and  man,  or  between  the  sections  of  a 
community.  "Where  envying  and  strife  is, 
there  is  contention  and  every  evil  work." 
Jas.  3:16.     See  also  Gal.  5:15. 

Yet  so  inveterate  is  this  spirit  of  conten- 


PEACE.  427 

tion,  and  so  dreadfully  does  it  blind  the  mind, 
that  it  is  with  great  difficulty  men  of  strife  can 
be  brought  to  believe  that  they  are  injuring 
and  degrading  themselves  by  all  their  malice. 
"It  is  an  honor  for  a  man  to  cease  from  strife; 
but  every  fool  will  be  meddling.''  Prov. 
20  :  3.  Such  a  sentence  is  either  not  heeded 
by  them,  or  it  strikes  terror  into  their  con- 
sciences. Other  portions  of  God's  word  are 
no  less  explicit.  Paul  j^nts  wrath  and  strife 
in  a  list  of  vices  of  the  most  hateful  character. 
Gal.  5  :  19-21.  James  says,  ''If  ye  have  bit- 
ter envying  and  strife  in  your  hearts,  glory 
not,  and  lie  not  against  the  truth."    Jas.  3:14. 

Nothing  should  more  arouse  us  to  this 
duty  than  the  example  of  our  blessed  Lord,  of 
whom  it  was  foretold  that  "he  shall  not  strive 
nor  cry ;  neither  shall  any  man  hear  his  voice 
in  the  streets."  Matt.  12:19.  "When  he 
was  reviled,  he  reviled  not  again;  when  he 
suffered,  he  threatened  not." 

We  can  now  see  why  our  blessed  Saviour 
spoke  as  he  did  concerning  those  who,  with  a 
good  will,  seek  to  promote  peace  around  them. 
"Blessed  are  the  peacemakers;  for  they  shall 
be  called  the  children  of  God." 

And  can  any  imagine  a  more  interesting 


428  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

sight  tlian  a  community  regulated  by  such 
principles  as  the  gospel  enjoins  on  this  subject, 
where  would  be  nothing  to  hurt  or  destroy  in 
all  God's  holy  mountain  ? 

But  the  question  arises,  How  far  are  we  to 
bear  and  forbear ;  how  much  must  we  yield  for 
peace  ?  Is  it  possible  for  us  to  control  other 
people's  minds  and  acts  in  this  matter  ?  And 
here  it  is  pleasant  to  be  able  to  say  that  the 
Bible  prescribes  no  impossible  tasks.  Its  lan- 
guage is,  ''If  it  be  possible,  as  much  as  lieth 
in  you,  live  peaceably  with  all  men."  Rom. 
12  :  18.  How  plain  and  how  safe  is  this  rule. 
Up  to  the  measure  of  our  ability  we  must 
go,  but  the  law  extends  no  further.  Nay, 
the  Scriptures  tell  us  of  one  great  and  good 
man  whose  lament  was,  "My  soul  hath  long 
dwelt  with  him  that  hateth  peace.  I  am  for 
peace;  but  when  I  speak,  they  are  for  war." 
Psa.  120:  6,  7.  They  go  further,  and  tell  us 
of  some  who  ' '  preach  Christ  even  of  envy  and 
strife."  Phil.  1  :  15,  16.  There  is  no  limit  to 
the  contentious  propensities  of  some.  They 
introduce  virulence  even  into  their  most  sol- 
emn public  acts  in  religion.  Some  do  all  this, 
and  yet  add  all  the  time  great  professions  of 
love.     Thus  in  the  days  of  Micah,  God  speaks 


PEACE.  429 

of  ''prophets  that  make  my  people  err,  that 
bite  with  their  teeth,  and  cry,  Peace;  and  he 
that  putteth  not  into  their  mouths,  they  even 
prepare  war  against  him."     Micah  3:5. 

We  are  then  not  at  liberty  to  forsake  God 
or  deny  his  truth,  in  order  to  promote  peace. 
On  the  contrary,  we  must  obey  God  rather 
than  man.  We  must  contend  earnestly  for  the 
faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints.  We  must 
never  make  shipwreck  of  faith.  We  must 
never  part  with  a  good  conscience.  "  Buy  the 
truth,  and  sell  it  not'' — sell  it  not  even  for 
peace.  The  world  asks  too  dear  a  price  for 
its  smiles  or  its  favor,  when  it  asks  us  to  re- 
nounce the  faith  of  God's  people,  or  purity  of 
mind. 

Nor  is  it  necessarily  proof  of  a  wrong  spirit 
in  us  to  refuse  to  surrender  our  just  and  legal 
rights  merely  because  others  choose  to  at- 
tempt to  take  them  from  us.  Paul  exclaimed, 
"I  am  a  Eoman  citizen."  "I  appeal  to  Cassar." 
Nor  can  any  sober  man  deny  that  his  reten- 
tion of  his  rights  in  these  cases  was  every  way 
justifiable.  This  will  suggest  our  right  course 
respecting  lawsuits.  We  should  not  engage  in 
these  from  ambition  or  a  love  of  contention. 
We  should  not  be  litigious.     Oftentimes  ''a 


430  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

bad  settlement  is  better  than>a  good  lawsuit/' 
Those  who  love  to  resort  to  courts  seldom 
thrive.  As  the  wolf  spends  all  his  strength  in 
escaping  from  the  dogs  and  the  hunters,  al- 
though he  eats  many  sheep,  so  the  enormous 
expenses  of  the  practised  litigant,  even  when 
successful,  very  much  exhaust  his  means,  and 
keep  him  poor. 


COURAGE.  431 

CHAPTER  XX. 

COURAGE. 

I  ONCE  asked  a  great  general  what  propor- 
tion of  men  might  be  regarded  as  naturally 
brave  without  discipline  ?  He  said  it  was  im- 
possible to  answer  the  question  with  precision, 
but  that  the  number  was  very  small.  If  the 
inquiry  had  related  to  the  tempers  of  men  in 
the  performance  of  their  moral  and  religious 
duties,  the  number  of  the  naturally  courageous 
might  have  been  stated  as  still  less.  Sin  has 
made  cowards  of  us  all.  Without  the  grace  of 
God  no  man  has  heroism  enough  left  to  enable 
him  to  do  his  duty  to  God  or  man.  We  are 
not  only  averse  to  holiness,  but  we  have  a  very 
peculiar  dread  of  those  things  which  by  the 
wicked  are  inflicted  on  the  conscientious.  We 
have  need  of  constant  support  and  encourage- 
ment in  the  path  of  rectitude.  Accordingly 
no  small  part  of  all  good  writings,  inspired  and 
uninspired,  are  designed  to  give  boldness  in 
the  profession  and  practice  of  that  which  is 
right.  Thus  in  Psa.  27:14  we  read,  "Be  of 
good    courage,   and  he   shall   strengthen   thy 


4:32  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

heart;"  and  in  Psa.  31  :  24,  ''Be  of  good  cour- 
age, and  he  shall  strengthen  j^our  heart,  all  ye 
that  hope  in  the  Lord."  When  Joshua  sent 
away  the  spies,  his  chief  exhortation  to  them 
was  to  "be  of  good  courage."  Num.  13  :  20. 
Among  the  dying  counsels  of  Moses  to  Israel, 
in  view  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan,  was  this: 
''Be  strong  and  of  a  good  courage,  fear  not, 
nor  be  afraid  of  them:  for  the  Lord  thy  God, 
he  it  is  that  doth  go  with  thee ;  he  will  not  fail 
thee,  nor  forsake  thee."  Deut.  31 :  6.  The 
same  exhortation  is  given  by  God  himself 
through  Joshua.  Josh.  1:6,  9;  10:25.  A 
part  of  David's  dying  advice  to  Solomon  was, 
' '  Be  strong  and  of  good  courage ;  dread  not, 
nor  be  dismayed."  1  Chron.  22  :  13.  Again, 
"Be  strong  and  of  good  courage,  and  do  it ;  fear 
not,  nor  be  dismayed,  for  the  Lord  God,  even 
my  God,  will  be  with  thee;  he  will  not  fail 
thee,  nor  forsake  thee."  1  Chron.  28  :  20. 
Words  of  similar  import  have  often  been  ad- 
dressed to  armies  about  to  engage  in  battle. 
2  Sam.  10:12;  1  Chron.  19  :  13.  Indeed,  so 
surely  as  the  spirit  of  piety  revives  among  any 
people,  there  will  be  a  great  revival  of  cour- 
age. See  Ezra  10  :  4,  and  many  other  places, 
especially  Acts  4  :  13,  29,  31.     In  like  manner 


COUEAGE.  433 

Paul  exhorts  the  Corinthians:  ''Watch  ye, 
stand  fast  in  the  faith,  quit  you  like  men^  he 
strong y  Of  like  import  are  those  numerous 
exhortations  in  both  Testaments  to  "be  strong," 
ti)  ''be  strong  in  the  Lord,"  etc.  In  fact  the 
Scriptures  often  speak  in  tones  of  high  com- 
mendation of  doing  things  courageously,  and 
greatly  censure  such  as  are  not  valiant  for  the 
truth.  Indeed,  when  sin  is  impudent  and  bra- 
zen-faced, it  is  not  right  that  piety  should  be 
timid  and  sneaking.  Accordingly  the  genuine 
people  of  God  have  in  all  ages  manifested 
more  or  less  intrepidity  in  the  cause  of  truth. 
And  as  inspired  men,  so  also  uninspired  men, 
who  have  gained  a  just  influence  in  the  church 
of  God,  have  always  commended  this  virtue. 
Indeed  what  can  be  done  without  it  ?  A  timid, 
discouraged,  despondent,  cowardly  person  is 
ill  prepared  to  meet  the  rough  assaults  of  the 
enemies  of  virtue.  He  will  yield  the  citadel 
of  truth,  and  flee  as  one  ashamed.  He  will 
betray  the  best  interests  of  his  cause.  He  will 
defend  nothing,  and  uphold  nothing  good.  He 
will  be  a  poor  help  and  a  poor  reliance  in  the 
day  of  trouble. 

But  what  is  the  courage  which  the  Scrip- 
tures commend?    This  is  a  question  of  great 

Vital  Godliness.  19 


4:34  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

importance.  There  are  in  our  language  four 
words  which  are  often  used  confusedly.  These 
are,  hravery,  courage,  valor,  ^nd fortitude.  Brav- 
ery belongs  to  the  animal  part  of  our  nature ; 
courage  to  the  mental.  The  former  depends 
on  physical  temperament;  the  latter  on  the 
reason.  Bravery  is  an  instinct ;  courage  is  a 
virtue.  One  may  be  brave  without  thought. 
He  cannot  be  courageous  unless  he  calmly  re- 
flects. Bravery  is  often  headlong  and  head- 
strong ;  courage  is  cool  and  reasonable.  The 
former  acts  upon  an  impulse ;  the  latter  upon 
conviction.  By  delay  bravery  dies  away ;  by 
delay  courage  gains  strength.  Bravery  is 
blind  and  furious;  courage  is  far-seeing  and 
prudent.  Men  are  brave  in  common  with  the 
war-horse  ;  they  have  courage  in  common  with 
the  great  patriots  and  bleeding  martyrs  of  all 
ages.  A  man  may  be  brave  without  courage, 
and  courageous  without  bravery.  He  may  be 
unmoved  because  he  has  no  sense  of  danger. 
Or  his  nerves  may  be  upset  by  apprehensions 
,  of  peril,  and  his  constancy  of  mind  be  wholly 
unshaken. 

Valor  is  supposed  to  have  all  the  best  qual- 
ities of  both  bravery  and  courage.  It  glories 
in  risking  all  upon  a  just  occasion.     It  looks 


COURAGE.  435 

far  ahead  and  is  wise.  But  its  counsels  would 
be  madness  in  the  timid.  Men  are  never  val- 
iant except  as  they  are  moved  by  the  higher 
aims  and  passions  of  our  nature.  No  man  can 
be  valiant  for  a  trifle  or  a  sordid  end.  The 
love  of  country,  the  love  of  truth,  the  love  of 
God,  or  something  high  and  noble  must  always 
actuate  the  valiant  man. 

There  is  also,  in  strict  propriety  of  lan- 
guage, a  difference  between  courage  snidforti- 
tude.  Courage  faces  and  resists  danger ;  forti- 
tude endures  pain.  Courage  is  sometimes  used 
in  a  bad  sense;  fortitude  never.  Courage  is 
for  action  ;  fortitude  for  suffering.  In  this 
sense  fortitude  differs  little  from  constancy  and 
patience.  Yet  by  many  good  writers  these 
words  are  used  interchangeably.  Indeed  all 
these  words  are  at  times  used  in  a  good  sense 
and  synonymously.  In  this  chapter  the  word 
courage  will  be  used,  and  in  a  good  sense  only. 
There  is  a  Christian  grace  of  that  name.  It 
is  of  great  value.  It  is  the  quality  Peter  points 
out  when  he  says,  "Add  to  faith  virtue J^  So 
highly  did  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Latins  es- 
teem courage,  that  often  in  their  classics  the 
word  by  which  they  express  it  is  the  word  by 
which  they  express  the  idea  of  virtue  gener- 


436  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

ally ;  as  if  they  would  assert  that  it  was  either 
the  sum  or  the  index  of  all  virtue.  In  the 
sense  of  courage,  it  is  by  many  held  that  Peter 
uses  it  in  the  words  just  quoted.  Merely  to 
believe  is  not  the  whole  of  our  work.  To  our 
faith  we  must  add  courage.  We  have  great 
need  of  this  grace.  But  like  all  other  Chris- 
tian virtues,  courage  has  its  counterfeits.  It 
is  therefore  very  important  for  us  soundly  to 
discriminate.  True  courage  is  wise  and  calcu- 
lates.    It  thinks  soberly,  and 

' '  Is  not  the  appetite 
Of  formidable  things,  nor  inconsult 
Rashness  ;  but  wtue  fighting  for  a  truth." 

It  has  that  prudence  which  foreseeth  the  evil, 
and  hideth  itself.  It  looks  well  to  its  ways. 
It  chooses  the  best  ends  and  the  best  methods 
of  attaining  them.  It  never  cries,  *' There  is  no 
danger,"  but  is  suspicious  of  mere  appearances. 
It  admits  the  real  difficulties  in  its  way,  and 
provides  for  their  removal.  It  is  full  of  wis- 
dom and  forethought.  In  this  it  wholly  differs 
from  fanaticism,  which  is  blind  and  furious, 
and  commonly  blind  in  proportion  to  its  fury. 
The  Bible  everywhere  commends  ''a  sound 
mind."  It  is  as  truly  at  war  with  folly  as  with 
sin.     Would  you  have  a  courage  quite  daunt- 


COUKAGE.  437 

less  ?  Choose  such  a  course  of  life  as  God  un- 
questionably approves,  such  a  course  as  you 
know  you  will  yourself  approve  when  standing 
before  God  in  judgment.  Thus  you  will  al- 
ways be  supported  by  your  own  understand- 
ing and  conscience.  Having  no  mental  mis- 
givings, you  will  not  grow  pale  at  the  shaking 
of  a  l^af  or  of  a  spear.  This  true  courage  seeks 
worthy  objects  and  noble  aims,  and 

"Is  seen  in  gi-eat  exj)loits 
That  justice  warrants,  and  that  wisdom  guides; 
All  else  is  towering  frenzy  and  distraction." 

It  is  not  low  and  mean  in  its  aims  and  plans. 
It  is  expansive  in  its  desires.  It  lives  for 
God's  glory  and  man's  happiness. 

True  Christian  courage  is  also  humble.  It 
vaunteth  not  itself,  and  is  not  puffed  up.  It 
greatly  boasteth  in  God,  but  not  at  all  in  the 
flesh.  It  emptieth  itself,  but  finds  its  fulness 
in  God.  Just  so  surely  as  one  trusteth  in 
himself  that  he  is  strong  and  can  do  exploits, 
just  so  surely  is  he  a  poor,  weak,  cowardly 
thing.  Look  at  Peter.  He  cries  out,  "  Though 
all  men  forsake  thee,  yet  will  not  I."  It  is  but 
a  few  hours  till  he  denies  his  Lord  with  oaths. 
Boasters  are  like  clouds  and  wind  without  rain. 
When  we  lay  hold  on  God,  we  are  girded  with 


438  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

omnipotence;  but  when  we  are  left  to  our- 
selves we  are  as  weak  as  water. 

Evans  says,  "Courage  in  general  is  a  tem- 
per which  disposes  a  man  to  do  brave  and 
commendable  actions  without  being  daunted 
at  the  appearance  of  dangers  and  difi&culties  in 
the  way." 

Buck  says,  "Courage  is  active  fortitude, 
that  meets  dangers  and  attempts  to  repel 
them." 

Seneca,  whose  mind  was  unenlightened  by 
Christianity,  yet  says,  "Courage  is  properly 
the  contempt  of  hazards  according  to  reason; 
but  that  to  run  into  danger  from  mere  passion, 
is  rather  a  daring  and  brutal  fierceness  than 
an  honorable  couraofe." 

Cicero,  in  some  respects  the  greatest  of  the 
heathen  philosophers,  says,  "That  sort  of  cour- 
age which  disregards  the  rules  of  justice,  and 
is  displayed  not  for  the  public  good,  but  for 
private  selfish  ends,  is  altogether  blamable ; 
and  so  far  from  being  a  part  of  true  virtue,  it 
is  a  piece  of  the  most  barbarous  inhumanity." 

Plato  says,  "As  that  sort  of  knowledge 
which  is  not  directed  by  the  rules  of  justice, 
ought  rather  to  have  the  name  of  design  and 
subtlety  than  wisdom  and  prudence;  just  so 


COURAGE.  439 

that  bold  and  adventurous  mind  which  is  hur- 
ried on  by  the  stream  of  its  own  passions,  and 
not  for  the  good  of  the  public,  should  rather 
have  the  nsime  fool-hardy  and  daring,  than  val- 
iant and  courageous." 

The  Duke  of  Sully  says,  ''That  which  arms 
us  against  our  friends  and  countrymen,  in  con- 
tempt of  all  laws,  as  well  divine  as  human,  is 
but  a  brutal  fierceness,  madness,  and  real  pu- 
sillanimity." 

Another  says,  "That  hardy  rashness  which 
many  account  valor  is  the  companion  of  igno- 
rance ;  and  of  all  rashness,  boldness  to  sin  is 
the  most  witless  and  foolish." 

Addison  says,  "Courage  that  grows  from 
constitution  very  often  forsakes  a  man  when 
he  has  occasion  for  it;  and  when  it  is  only  a 
kind  of  instinct  in  the  soul,  it  breaks  out  on  all 
occasions  without  judgment  or  discretion;  but 
that  courage  which  arises  from  a  sense  of  duty 
and  from  a  fear  of  offending  Him  that  made 
us,  always  acts  in  a  uniform  manner  and  ac- 
cording to  the  dictates  of  right  reason."  He 
also  says  courage  "is  that  heroic  spirit  inspired 
by  the  conviction  of  our  cause  being  just,  and 
that  God  will  not  forsake  us." 

Mr.  Burke  says,  "  The  only  real  courage  is 


440  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

generated  by  the  fear  of  God.  He  who  fears 
God  fears  nothing  else."  Indeed  the  Scrip- 
tures justify  the  remark  that  no  man  has  true 
courage  except  so  far  as  he  is  a  good  man. 
"The  righteous  are  as  bold  as  a  lion;  but  the 
wicked  flee  when  no  man  pursueth." 

"Stand  but  your  ground,  your  ghostly  foes  wiU  fly: 
Hell  trembles  at  a  lieaven-directed  eye. 
Choose  rather  to  defend  than  to  assail; 
SeK-confidence  will  in  the  conflict  fail. 
When  you  are  challenged,  you  may  dangers  meet — 
True  courage  is  a  fixed,  not  sudden  heat ; 
Is  always  humble,  Kves  in  self-distrust, 
And  will  itself  into  no  danger  thrust. 
Devote  youi-self  to  God,  and  you  will  find 
God  fights  the  battles  of  a  will  resigned. 
Love  Jesus.     Love  will  no  base  fear  endure. 
Love  Jesus,  and  of  conquest  rest  secure."      Bp.  Ken. 

Collier  says,  ''True  courage  is  the  result  of 
reasoning.  A  brave  mind  is  always  impreg- 
nable. Resolution  lies  more  in  the  head  than 
in  the  veins,  and  a  just  sense  of  honor  and  of 
infamy,  of  duty  and  of  religion,  will  carry  us 
further  than  all  the  force  of  mechanism." 

From  all  this  it  appears  that  true  courage 
is  calm,  rational,  firm,  controlled  by  a  sense  of 
justice,  free  from  raving  and  madness,  from 
hatred  and  malignity.  It  is  truth,  justice,  and 
honor  sitting  on  a  throne  of  virtue.  Because 
it  fears  God,  it  has  not  that  fear  of  man  which 


COUEAGE.  441 

bringeth  a  snare.  Trials  do  but  evince  and 
evoke  it.  ''True  courage  never  exerts  itself 
so  much  as  when  it  is  most  pressed ;  and  it  is 
then  we  most  enjoy  the  feast  of  a  good  con- 
science when  we  stand  in  the  greatest  need  of 
its  support." 

Dymond  well  says,  "The  courage  which 
Christianity  requires,  is  to  bravery  what  forti- 
tude is  to  daring — an  effort  of  the  mental  prin- 
ciples rather  than  of  the  spirits.  It  is  a  calm, 
steady  determinateness  of  purpose,  that  will 
not  be  diverted  by  solicitation,  or  awed  by 
fear."  And  he  very  properly  cites  as  an  illus- 
tration of  his  meaning  those  immortal  words  of 
Paul:  "Behold,  I  go  bound  in  the  spirit  unto 
Jerusalem,  not  knowing  the  things  that  shall 
befall  me  there;  save  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
witnesseth  in  every  city,  saying  that  bonds 
and  afflictions  abide  me.  But  none  of  these 
things  move  me,  neither  count  I  my  life  dear 
unto  myself." 

So  much  for  the  general  nature  of  courage. 
It  may  be  either  active  or  passive.  Active 
courage  leads  to  bold  deeds ;  passive  courage 
is  not  moved  by  fears  in  times  of  peril  and 
suffering.  By  active  courage  Jonathan  and 
his  armor-bearer  captured  the  strong-hold  of 

19* 


442  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

the  Philistines;  by  passive  courage  Joseph 
sustained  himself  in  the  dungeons  of  Egypt. 
By  the  former  David  performed  the  great  ex- 
ploits of  killing  the  lion,  the  bear,  and  the 
giant  of  Gath;  by  the  latter  he  endured  the 
contumely  of  Shimei  as  he  was  retreating  from 
the  holy  city.  Daniel  was  passively  coura- 
geous when  in  the  lions'  den ;  he  was  actively 
courageous  when,  in  unfaltering  tone  and  with 
awful  solemnity,  he  pronounced  sentence  of 
death  on  Belshazzar.  Active  courage  bestirs 
itself,  and  uses  all  its  resources  to  avert,  re- 
move, or  diminish  evils ;  passive  courage  defies 
the  worst  evils  that  can  come,  and  preserves 
equanimity  in  the  midst  of  convulsions,  disas- 
ters, revolutions,  and  death  in  all  its  frightful 
forms.  The  principle  of  all  courage  is  the 
same.  He  who  is  possessed  of  the  genuine 
virtue  in  one  set  of  circumstances,  will  not 
want  it  when  circumstances  change. 

Perhaps  no  historical  book  of  equal  length 
gives  more  instruction  as  to  the  nature  and  ob- 
ligation of  active  courage  than  that  of  Nehe- 
miah.  It  contains  an  account  of  one  of  the 
greatest  and  most  difficult  enterprises  ever  ac- 
complished. There  was  peril  at  every  step; 
yet  Nehemiah   was  never  daunted.     ''Shall 


COUEAGE.  US 

such  a  man  as  I  flee  ?*'  was  the  short  but  stern 
reply  he  gave  to  those  who  would  tempt  him 
to  cowardice.  But  one  must  read  the  whole 
book  with  care  in  order  to  understand  the  he- 
roism of  that  great  governor.  Yerily  he  ob- 
tained a  good  report,  and  on  the  best  grounds. 
Leigh  ton  well  says,  ''It  is  the  battle  tries  the 
soldier,  and  the  storm  the  pilot.  How  would 
it  appear  that  Christians  can  be  not  only  pa- 
tient but  cheerful  in  poverty,  in  disgrace  and 
temptations  and  persecutions,  if  it  were  not 
often  their  lot  to  meet  with  them  ?"  It  is  a 
great  thing  for  us  when  we  know  our  calling, 
and  understand  why  we  are  made  to  suffer 
severely. 

One  of  our  capital  errors  is,  that  we  often 
fall  into  a  dreamy  state,  and  forget  that  life  is 
full  of  severe  realities. 

/'I  slept,  and  dreamed  that  life  was  beauty ; 
I  woke,  and  found  that  life  was  duty. 
Was  then  thy  dream  a  shadowy  Ue  ? 
Toil  on,  sad  heart,  courageously, 
And  thou  shalt  find  thy  dream  to  be 
A  noonday  light  and  truth  to  thee." 

Let  every  man  say  with  Romaine,  ''My 
time  is  short ;  I  must  be  up  and  doing ;  I  must 
go  briskly  on  with  my  work,  leaving  it  to  my 
Lord  to  find  me  strength  for  it  and  success  in 


444:  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

it.  His  blessing  I  expect  here  and  for  ever ; 
not  for  any  thing  I  have  done  ;  and  yet  I  would 
labor  as  hard  as  if  heaven  was  to  be  the  re- 
ward of  my  labors.'^  True  Christian  courage  is 
loudly  demanded  in  our  day.  Every  duty  may 
bring  it  to  the  test. 

It  is  not  possible  for  us  to  be  too  entirely 
and  intrepidly  devoted  to  the  service  of  God. 
Yet  we  cannot  be  too  guarded  as  to  our  motives 
in  undertaking  any  service  for  Christ.  Let  us 
not  seek  our  own  ease,  our  own  honor  or  ad- 
vantage ;  let  us  not  be  moved  by  any  unholy 
bitterness,  nor  by  party-spirit;  let  us  not  fol- 
low blind  impulses,  nor  indulge  in  temporary 
excitements;  let  us  not  neglect  the  duties  of 
the  closet  for  those  of  the  platform ;  but  still 
let  us  boldly  and  earnestly  serve  the  Lord  day 
and  night. 

Important  as  is  a  stirring,  active  courage, 
a  passive  courage  is  no  less  so.  This  we  com- 
monly need  in  all  our  Christian  course.  The 
world  is  never  pleased  with  the  people  of  God. 
The  son  of  the  bond-woman  still  strives  with 
the  son  of  the  free- woman.  Opposition  to  all 
that  is  good  is  stern,  instant,  and  determined. 
Nothing  but  divine  grace  can  ever  enable  a 
child  of  God  to  endure  the  fearful  hostility  of 


COUKAGE.  U5 

the  enemy.     Our  Saviour's  word  is  still  ful- 
filled: "I  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance 
against  his  father,  and  the   daughter  against 
her  mother,  and  the  daughter-in-law  against 
her  mother-in-law ;  and  a  man's  foes  shall  be 
they  of  his  own  household.'^     The  offence  of 
the  cross  has  not  ceased.     It  never  can  cease 
but  by  the  conversion  of  the  soul  to  Grod.     "If 
ye  were  of  the  world,  the  world  would  love  his 
own ;  but  because  I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the 
world,  therefore  the  world  hateth  you."     Men 
of  the  world  have  no  better  temper  towards 
Christianity  than  when  they  crucified  its  Au- 
thor, and  cast  his  followers  to  the  wild  beasts. 
He  who  would  be  a  Christian  must  be  so  at  the 
risk  of  all  he  counts  dear  in  this  life.     The 
world  will  heap  odium  upon  him,  will  vex  his 
righteous  soul  from  day  to  day,  and  if  possible, 
turn  him  away  from  his  tender  walk  with  God. 
Of  three  devices  the  enemies  of  the  saints  are 
very  fond :  one  is  seduction ;  another  is  scorn- 
ing ;   the  third  is  bloody  persecution.      The 
first  is  used  at  all  times.     To  seduce  Grod's 
people  from  the  path  of  rectitude  is  the  busi- 
ness of  thousands.     Whether  they  really  de- 
sign it  or  not,  their  principles  and  their  prac- 
tices are  alike  evil  and  corrupting.     They  are 


446  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

always  spreading  snares  for  the  feet  of  the  un- 
wary. They  use  every  blandishing  art.  They 
allure  by  means  of  winning  manners.  They 
use  cunning  craftiness.  They  profess  great 
friendship  for  the  very  objects  of  their  arts ; 
but  they  regard  Christian  principle  as  unnec- 
essarily strict  and  severe.  They  glory  in  not 
being  bound  by  the  unbending  laws  of  God's 
people ;  yet  their  example  makes  them  uneasy. 
Besides,  having  no  love  to  Grod  and  holiness, 
they  cannot  endure  the  exemplary  life  of  con- 
sistent Christians.  Yet  they  are  not  prepared 
to  show  all  the  venom  of  the  adversary,  and 
so  they  satisfy  themselves  with  attempts  to 
seduce  God's  servants. 

Others  go  further,  break  friendship  with 
consistent  professors,  affect  to  esteem  them 
fanatics,  and  vent  upon  them  the  utmost  viru- 
lence of  their  scorn.  They  practise  those 
''  cruel  mockings"  of  which  Paul  speaks  ;  cruel 
mockings,  than  which  nothing  is  harder  to  be 
borne  with  an  unruffled  spirit.  Many  take 
delight  in  subjecting  to  all  manner  of  mortifi- 
cation those  whose  minds  seem  made  up  to 
walk  in  the  paths  of  scriptural  piety.  In  every 
age,  the  world  has  exhausted  its  vocabulary  of 
abuse  against  the  people  of  God.     Nazarene, 


COURAGE.  447 

Galilean,  obstinate,  precisian,  Puritan,  Lollard, 
enthusiast,  fanatic,  are  but  a  few  of  the  terms 
of  reproach  used  by  the  world  towards  con- 
sistent Christians.  I  have  known  a  man  told 
to  his  face  that  he  was  a  fanatic,  because  he 
would  not  go  with  a  man  of  the  world  to  view 
his  earthly  possessions  on  the  Lord's-day,  and 
he  professing  a  warm  friendship  all  the  time. 
There  is  cruelty  in  the  scorning  of  the  scorn- 
ers.  They  delight  in  their  trade.  They  love 
to  afflict  the  heritage  of  God.  They  shoot  out 
the  lip. 

When  seductions  and  scornings  fail,  the 
world  will,  as  it  can,  try  more  formal  persecu- 
tions. For  three  centuries  together,  at  the 
first  preaching  of  Christianity,  the  blood  of  the 
martyrs  hardly  ceased  to  flow.  Although  the 
laws  of  some  countries,  and  the  public  senti- 
ment of  the  world,  do  much  oppose  bloody  per- 
secutions in  our  day,  yet  even  to  this  present 
time  dungeons  and  death  are  the  portion  of 
some  of  God's  people.  It  is  but  a  short  time 
since  in  one  year  eight  thousand  persons  were 
by  edict  doomed  to  death  on  the  island  of  Mad- 
agascar, because  they  professed  to  love  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  Inquisition  still  has 
its  dungeons  and  its  tortures  and  secret  deaths 


448  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

and  burials.  A  large  body  of  men  in  tlie  nom- 
inally Christian  world  are  by  profession  trained 
to  regard  themselves  as  doing  God  service 
when  they  violate  all  the  laws  of  charity  tow- 
ards those  who  differ  from  them  in  religious 
doctrine  and  practice.  Whether  much  of  the 
blood  of  the  saints  is  likely  again  to  be  shed 
on  the  earth,  is  a  point  on  which  good  men  dif- 
fer. But  prophecy  does  seem  to  foretell  days 
of  great  trial  yet  to  come  on  the  church,  and 
that  before  her  final  triumph  and  universal 
dominion.  Should  that  day  of  trial  come,  who 
is  prepared?  who  is  full  of  courage?  who  is 
ready  to  be  offered  upon  the  sacrifice  and  ser- 
vice of  the  church's  faith?  Such  a  day  will 
demand  the  faith  and  fortitude  of  martyrs. 

That  many  cherish  the  principles  of  perse- 
cutors is  evident,  by  the  malice  they  show  in 
many  forms,  and  by  their  open,  bold  avowals. 
The  Shepherd  of  the  Yalley,  a  Roman-catholic 
paper  in  our  country,  says,  "  If  the  Catholics 
ever  gain,  as  they  will  do,  though  at  a  distant 
day,  an  immense  majority,  religious  freedom 
is  at  an  end."  It  also  says,  ''  Heresy  and  un- 
belief are  crimes ;  that  is  the  whole  of  the  mat- 
ter ;  and  in  Christian  countries,  as  Italy  and 
Spain  for  instance,  where  all  the  people  are 


COURAGE.  449 

Catholic,  and  where  the  Catholic  religion  is  an 
essential  part  of  the  public  law  of  the  land, 
they  will  be  punished  as  other  crimes." 

This  is  but  the  echo  of  the  dogmas  of  Rom- 
ish doctrines  for  centuries  past.  Let  not  the 
supine  wrap  themselves  up  in  the  cloak  of  indif- 
ference, and  say  that  there  is  no  danger.  Ev- 
ery bishop  and  archbishop  in  that  apostate 
communion  is  a  sworn  persecutor  to  the  utmost 
of  his  power.  Ungodly  men  everywhere  may 
suddenly  have  all  restraints  removed,  and  then 
they  will  be  wild  beasts  in  the  heritage  of 
God. 

If  any  would  have  examples  of  high  Chris- 
tian courage  both  in  doing  and  suffering  the 
will  of  God,  let  them  study  the  history  of 
the  church  in  all  ages.  Moses,  Joshua,  Gid- 
eon, Barak,  Samson,  Jephthah,  Ehud,  Ste- 
phen, Paul,  Peter,  and  John,  in  inspired  his- 
tory, with  scores  and  hundreds  in  later  ages, 
stand  forth  as  bright  patterns  of  the  grace 
here  commended.  They  ''subdued  kingdoms, 
wrought  righteousness,  obtained  promises, 
stopped  the  mouths  of  lions,  quenched  the  vi- 
olence of  fire,  escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword, 
out  of  weakness  were  made  strong,  waxed  val- 
iant in  fight,  turned  to  flight  the  armies  of  the 


450  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

aliens.  Women  received  their  dead  to  life 
again :  and  others  were  tortured,  not  accepting 
deliverance;  that  they  might  obtain  a  better 
resurrection :  and  others  had  trial  of  cruel 
mockings  and  scourgings,  yea,  moreover,  of 
bonds  and  imprisonment :  they  were  stoned, 
they  were  sawn  asunder,  were  tempted,  were 
slain  with  the  sword :  they  wandered  about  in 
sheep-skins  and  goat-skins  ;  being  destitute, 
afflicted,  tormented ;  (of  whom  the  world  was 
not  worthy :)  they  wandered  in  deserts  and  in 
mountains,  and  in  dens  and  caves  of  the 
earth." 

Nor  were  examples  of  great  courage  con- 
fined to  the  days  of  inspiration.  The  pious 
Flavel  has  collected  several  pleasing  instances 
of  this  grace.  When  Yalens  the  emperor  in 
a  great  rage  threatened  Basil  the  Great  with 
banishment  and  torture,  he  replied,  ''As  to 
the  first,  I  little  regard  it,  for  the  earth  is  the 
Lord's  and  the  fulness  thereof ;  as  for  tortures, 
what  can  they  do  upon  such  a  poor  thin  body 
as  mine,  nothing  but  skin  and  bone  ?"  Luther 
had  such  a  courage  in  the  cause  of  truth,  that 
in  his  last  sickness  he  expressed  sorrow  that 
"he  must  carry  his  blood  to  the  grave,"  and 
so  not  be  permitted  to  die  a  martyr's  death. 


COUKAGE.  451 

Tertullian  testifies  of  the  Christians  of  his  day, 
"Our  women  and  children — not  to  speak  of 
men — overcome  their  tormentors,  and  the  fire 
cannot  fetch  so  much  as  a  sigh  from  them.'' 

In  conclusion,  take  the  following  principles 
and  observations  for  guidance  in  this  duty. 

The  Scriptures  enforce  courage  both  by 
precepts  and  examples. 

Our  circumstances  urgently  demand  that 
we  should  possess  and  practise  this  grace. 

It  is  not  probable  that  we  shall  have  cour- 
age in  any  high  degree  unless  we  set  a  high 
value  upon  it. 

Mere  natural  courage  is  of  no  use  in  ena- 
bling us  to  resist  spiritual  foes  and  fears.  We 
must  therefore  seek  true  courage  by  faith  in 
Christ  Jesus.  He  who  is  readily  discouraged 
cannot  rise  to  great  eminence  in  any  thing, 
surely  not  in  the  divine  life. 

Scriptural  modes  of  arguing  are  the  best 
to  inspire  courage.  They  are  such  as  these  : 
''Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also;"  "As  thy 
days,  so  shall  thy  strength  be;"  "I  will  never 
leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee;"  "If  God  be  for 
us,  who  can  be  against  us  ?" 

All  true  spiritual  heroism  is  based  in  the 
precious   blood    and   righteousness   of    Jesus 


452  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Christ.  "  Time  will  neither  wear  out  the  guilt 
of  sin,  nor  blot  out  the  records  of  conscience." 
But  the  blood  of  Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin. 
It  speaks  better  things  than  the  blood  of  Abel. 
His  righteousness  is  enough  for  us  all.. 

Nor  should  we  hesitate  to  look  at  any 
thing  in  the  most  serious  and  solemn  manner. 
^'  Those  who  cannot  bear  to  hear  their  duty,  may 
prepare  soon  to  hear  their  doom."  Those  who 
will  not  permit  their  thoughts  to  travel  beyond 
the  bounds  of  time,  will  be,  must  be  greatly 
surprised  by  eternal  things.  The  thoughtless 
and  frivolous  must  expect  eternity  to  flash 
damnation  in  their  consciences.  It  is  mourn- 
ful that  in  a  world  like  ours  it  should  be  said 
of  but  one  here  and  there,  ''He  is  a  thoughtful 
man."  It  is  as  shocking  as  it  is  dangerous 
for  those  who  possess  the  powers  and  respon- 
sibilities of  men  to  aim  at  no  higher  end  than 
is  attained  by  the  brutes  that  perish.  Those 
who  would  grow  wiser  and  better,  must  not 
turn  away  their  minds  from  any  subject  sim- 
ply because  it  excites  painful  emotions.  The 
thoughtless  die  as  soon  as  others — not  as  safely. 

Would  you  have  dauntless  courage  in  all 
coming  duration,  die  unto  sin,  hold  fast  the 
covenant  and  oath  of  God,  and  let  Christ  be 


COURAGE.  453 

all  in  all  to  you.  He  that  would  not  be  filled 
"with  shame,  must  first  count  the  cost  of  all  he 
undertakes. 

God's  word  and  Spirit  are  always  on  the 
side  of  truth  and  duty,  and  may  be  infallibly 
relied  on. 

The  enemy  has  no  arts  nor  devices  that 
have  not  been  thwarted  a  thousand  times.  He 
can  be  beaten.     He  has  been  vanquished. 

Never  do  evil  that  good  may  come.  Choose 
your  weapons.     Maintain  a  good  conscience. 

Pray  to  know  the  depths  of  Satan  and  the 
cunning  sleight  of  men,  whereby  they  lie  in 
wait  to  deceive.  If  it  were  possible,  they 
would  deceive  the  very  elect. 

Divine  desertion  will  make  cowards  of  the 
bravest,  fools  of  the  wisest.  As  soon  as  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  deserted  Saul,  an  evil  spirit 
rested  on  him. 

Leave  character  as  well  as  soul  and  body 
in  the  hands  of  Grod.  Clamor  and  falsehood 
cannot  harm  you  if  truth  is  your  buckler  and 
God  your  refuge. 

Set  your  face  as  a  flint.  Trust  in  the  Lord, 
and  do  good.  "Nothing  but  cowardice  ever 
finally  lost  the  victory  in  the  cause  of  God." 


454  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

CONTENTMENT. 

Our  libraries  abound  with  treatises  on  con- 
tentment. Some  of  them  are  written  with 
great  ability.  Nor  has  there  ever  been  much 
formal  disputation  among  writers  on  morals 
respecting  the  obligation  and  excellence  of  this 
attainment.  It  produces  results  so  happy,  and 
is  enforced  by  so  many  urgent  reasons,  that  a 
man  must  be  particularly  blinded  before  he 
can  regard  discontent  as  either  lawful  or  slight- 
ly criminal.  The  difficulty  therefore  is  not  so 
much  in  the  want  of  good  rules  and  strong  rea- 
sons for  guiding  us  into  a  state  of  contentment, 
as  in  the  deep-rooted  aversion  of  our  hearts  to 
a  duty  which  requires  our  submission  to  the 
will  of  God.  We  know  better  than  we  do. 
Seeing  the  right,  we  pursue  the  wrong.  We 
smile  at  the  folly,  or  frown  at  the  wickedness 
of  discontent  in  others,  and  then  follow  their 
example. 

But  what  is  contentment ;  and  how  may  it 
be  known  from  evil  states  of  mind  somewhat 
resembling  it?     Contentment  is  not  careless- 


CONTENTMENT.  455 

ness  or  prodigality.  It  is  not  obtuseness  of 
sensibility.  It  is  a  disposition  of  mind  in 
which  we  rest  satisfied  with  the  will  of  God 
respecting  our  temporal  affairs,  without  hard 
thoughts  or  hard  speeches  concerning  his 
allotments,  and  without  any  sinful  desire  for  a 
change.  It  submissively  receives  what  is 
given.  It  thankfully  enjoys  present  mercies. 
It  leaves  the  future  in  the  hand  of  unerring 
wisdom.  Nor  is  there  any  thing  in  true  con- 
tentment to  make  men  satisfied  with  the  world 
as  a  portion  or  as  a  permanent  abode.  The 
most  contented  person  may  long  for  the  day 
when  Christ  shall  call  him  home.  He  may, 
like  Paul,  be  in  a  strait  betwixt  two,  not 
knowing  whether  to  desire  to  abide  in  the 
flesh  for  the  sake  of  others,  or  to  depart  and 
be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better.  God  never 
required  any  man  to  be  willing  to  live  here 
for  ever.  Nor  is  there  any  thing  stoical  in 
contentment.  It  is  not  bluntness  of  feeling. 
True  religion  does  not  make  men  dream  that 
a  prison  is  a  palace,  nor  make  them  reckless 
of  their  own  happiness.  Refined  sensibility  is 
promoted  by  true  religion. 

We  may  form  some  correct  idea  of  con- 
tentment by   considering  its   opposites.     Of 


456  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

these,  one  of  tlie  most  prominent  is  envy,  than 
which  there  is  not  a  more  vile,  nor  a  more 
violent  passion.  It  is  full  of  deadly  malice. 
When  a  man's  heart  grows  sick  at  the  superior 
worldly  success  of  others,  and  hates  them  on 
that  account,  he  is  not  far  from  ruin.  Evans 
says,  ''Envy  is  an  infallible  mark  of  discon- 
tent. Duty  to  Grod,  and  charity  to  our  neigh- 
bor, would  induce  us  to  take  pleasure  in  the 
welfare  of  others,  whether  we  immediately 
share  in  it  or  not."  If  thine  eye  is  evil  tow- 
ards thy  neighbor  because  God  is  good  to  him, 
it  is  proof  that  thou  quarrelest  with  Provi- 
dence. This  is  the  more  inexcusable,  because 
God  has  expressl}^  informed  us  that  men  of  the 
world  have  their  portion  in  this  life.  He  has 
provided  for  his  friends  a  portion  better  than 
was  ever  enjoyed  on  earth  by  any  man,  even 
by  Adam  before  his  fall.  And  if  God  should 
give  to  one  of  his  children  more  than  he  gives 
to  you,  has  he  not  a  right  to  do  what  he  will 
with  his  own  ? 

Contentment  is  also  opposed  to  corroding 
care  about  our  worldly  condition.  The  com- 
mand of  the  New  Testament  is,  "Be  careful 
for  nothing;  but  in  every  thing  by  pra^^er 
and  supplication  with  thanksgiving  let  jour 


CONTENTMENT.  457 

requests  be  made  known  unto  God."  Phil. 
4:6.  Similar  to  tMs  is  the  exhortation,  ''Cast 
all  your  care  upon  him,  for  he  careth  for  you." 
1  Pet.  5:7.  To  the  same  purport  spoke  our 
Lord:  "Take  no  thought  for  your  life,  what  ye 
shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall  drink ;  nor  yet  for 
your  body,  what  ye  shall  put  on.  Is  not  the 
life  more  than  meat,  and  the  body  than  rai- 
ment?" Matt.  6:25.  It  is  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  our  peace  and  usefulness,  that 
we  settle  it  in  our  minds  that  all  fretting  care 
about  the  things  of  this  life  is  both  a  sin  and  a 
folly.  It  is  to  these  immoderate  cares  that 
our  Lord  refers  when  he  says,  "Take  heed  to 
yourselves,  lest  at  any  time  your  hearts  be 
overcharged  with  surfeiting,  and  drunkenness, 
and  cares  of  this  life,  and  so  that  day  come 
upon  you  unawares."  Luke  21 :  34.  Seest 
thou  a  man  eager  after  the  things  of  time,  be- 
hold one  in  great  peril — peril  heightened  by 
his  success.  Our  hearts  are  very  deceitful.  Jo- 
nah may  be  too  much  taken  up  with  his  gourd, 
as  well  as  Solomon  with  his  vast  public  works. 
Contentment  is  opposed  to  covetousness. 
"There  are  two  words  in  the  Greek  Testament 
which  may  be  rendered  covetousness.  The 
one  literally  signifies  the  love  of  money ;  the 

Vitiil  GodUn«8s.  20 


458  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

other  a  desire  of  more,  in  Eph.  4 :  19  ren- 
dered greediness.  These  two  senses  are  coin- 
cident, for  no  man  desires  more  of  that  which 
he  does  not  love ;  and  as  he  that  loveth  silver 
cannot  be  satisfied  with  the  silver  which  he 
already  possesses,  he  will  of  course  desire 
more.  To  both  of  these  contentment  is  the 
opposite.  It  loves  not  inordinately  what  it 
has,  nor  is  greedy  for  more.  So  says  the 
Scripture:  "Let  your  conversation,"  your  life, 
your  behavior,  "be  without  covetousness,  and 
be  content  with  such  things  as  ye  have."  Heb. 
15  :  5.  "  Having  food  and  raiment,  let  us  be 
therewith  content."  1  Tim.  6  :  8.  What  a 
man  parched  with  the  thirst  of  dropsy  needs 
is  not  more  water,  but  more  health.  It  is  as 
impossible  to  remove  the  restlessness  of  a  cov- 
etous mind  by  heaping  wealth  upon  it,  as  to 
extinguish  fire  by  pouring  oil  upon  it.  It  is  a 
great  thing  to  learn  that  "a  man's  life's  consist- 
eth  not  in  the  abundance  of  the  things  which 
he  possesseth."  Luke  12  :  15.  So  that  "if  a 
.  man  is  not  content  in  that  state  he  is  in,  he 
will  not  be  content  in  any  state  he  would  be 
in."  Evans  says,  "We  see  people  arriving 
at  one  enjoyment  after  another,  which  once 
seemed  the  top  of  their  ambition;  and  yet  so 


CONTENTMENT,  459 

far  from  contentment,  that  their  desires  grow 
faster  than  their  substance,  and  they  are  as 
eager  to  improve  a  good  estate  when  they  are 
become  masters  of  it,  as  if  they  were  still 
drudging  for  food  and  raiment."  ''Beware  of 
covetousness." 

Contentment  is  also  the  opposite  of  pride. 
'.'Humility  is  the  mother  of  contentment." 
"They  that  deserve  nothing  should  be  content 
with  any  thing."  When  we  become  lifted  up 
with  pride,  and  think  we  deserve  something 
good  at  God's  hands,  it  is  impossible  to  satisfy 
us.  But  with  the  lowly  is  wisdom,  quietness, 
gentleness,  contentment.  He  who  expects 
nothing,  because  he  deserves  nothing,  is  sure 
to  be  satisfied  with  the  treatment  he  receives 
at  God's  hands.  So  that  "a  little  that  a  right- 
eous man  hath  is  better  than  the  riches  of 
many  wicked;"  for  "the  wicked,  through  the 
pride  of  his  countenance,  will  not  seek  after 
God."  The  proud  is  like  a  bullock  unaccus- 
tomed to  the  yoke.  He  is  turbulent  and  fiery. 
He  alienates  friends ;  he  makes  enemies.  He 
has  much  trouble  and  sorrow  where  the  hum- 
ble pass  quietly  along.  Pride  and  content- 
ment do  not  go  together. 

Neither  do  contentment  and  ambition  at 


460  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

all  agree.  "  Seekest  thou  great  things  for  thy- 
self? I  say  unto  thee,  Seek  them  not."  Our 
actual  wants  are  not  many ;  but  the  ambitious 
create  a  thousand  demands,  which  it  is  hard, 
if  not  impossible  to  meet.  If  men  are  bent  on 
gratifying  the  strong  desires  of  a  wicked  am- 
bition, it  will  require  more  resources  than  any 
mortal  possesses  to  meet  the  half  of  them.  If 
a  wise  man  cannot  bring  his  condition  to  his 
mind,  he  will  honestl}^*  endeavor  to  bring  his 
mind  to  his  condition.  But  this  the  ambitious 
will  not  do.  He  will  be  content  wdth  nothing 
gained,  because  each  elevation  widens  his  hori- 
zon, and  gives  him  a  view  of  something  else 
which  he  greatly  longs  for,  and  so  he  is  tossed 
from  vanity  to  vanity,  a  stranger  to  solid 
peace.  Art  thou  ambitious?  then  thou  art 
thine  own  tormentor. 

Contentment  is  opposed  to  murmurings  and 
repinings  against  God's  providence,  and  dwells 
with  her  sisters  gratitude,  submission,  resig- 
nation. Like  Hezekiah,  she  exclaims  concern- 
ing all  God's  orderings,  "  Good  is  the  word  of 
the  Lord."  Isa.  39  :  8.  This  is  a  great  point. 
If  you  can  say  nothing  clearly  to  the  glory  of 
God,  it  is  wise  to  be  dumb  and  not  open  your 
mouth.     Psa.  38:13;  39:2. 


CONTENTMENT.  461 

Contentment  is  also  opposed  to  distrust  of 
God,  and  to  despondency  respecting  the  order- 
ings  of  his  providence.  Instead  of  waiting  on 
the  Lord,  and  relying  on  him  for  strength  of 
heart,  how  many  forebode  ill  from  all  that 
occurs  to  them,  or  is  anticipated  by  them. 
They  have  little  if  any  cheerfulness.  Their 
souls  are  never  as  mount  Zion,  which  cannot 
be  removed,  but  abideth  for  ever.  Apprehen- 
sion takes  the  place  of  confidence.  True  con- 
tentment will  break  up  this  state  of  things.  It 
will  settle,  confirm,  and  establish  the  soul. 

The  proper  fruits  of  contentment  are  many, 
pleasant,  and  easily  discerned. 

1.  It  begets  cheerfulness  and  thankfulness 
of  speech.  He  who  is  always  singing  dirges, 
and  has  no  songs  of  praise ;  he  who  is  perpet- 
ually filling  the  ear  of  friendship  with  his  com- 
plaints, and  has  nothing  to  say  of  loving-kind- 
ness, is  not  blessed  with  true  contentment.  It 
tells  a  different  tale.  It  does-  not  charge  God 
foolishly.  If  it  sings  of  judgment,  it  sings  also 
of  mercy. 

2.  True  contentment  makes  men  conscien- 
tious and  exact  in  religiously  performing  their 
duties  to  all  around  them.  They  trust  in  the 
Lord,  and  do  good.    They  do  good  to  all  men, 


462  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

especially  to  the  household  of  faith.  If  G-od 
takes  away  one  friend,  they  will  endeavor  more 
meekly  and  assiduously  to  render  all  that  is 
due  to  those  who  remain.  If  he  takes  half 
one's  worldly  goods,  the  residue  is  more  than 
ever  conscientiously  employed  for  his  glory. 
If  such  cannot  do  as  they  wish,  they  will  do  as 
Providence  permits. 

3.  The  truly  contented  will  not  resort  to 
wicked  or  to  doubtful  expedients  for  relieving 
their  own  wants  and  distresses.  They  had 
rather  suffer  wrong  than  do  wrong.  To  them 
want  is  not  so  bad  as  ill-gotten  wealth.  They 
prefer  to  endure  a  hard  lot  rather  than  to  drive 
a  hard  bargain.  Stealing,  cheating,  wild  spec- 
ulation, or  any  fraud,  is  to  them  worse  than 
poverty.  They  go  not  down  to  Egypt  nor 
over  to  Assyria  for  help,  when  they  have  been 
told  to  trust  in  Jehovah  alone.  They  are  will- 
ing to  be  rid  of  want  or  straits,  but  not  at  the 
expense  of  a  good  conscience. 

4.  If  the  truly  contented  have  been  diso- 
bliged by  men,  they  are  not  malignant,  but 
benevolent  towards  them.  They  look  upon 
their  enemies  as  God's  hand  and  God's  sword, 
the  rod  of  his  anger,  the  scourge  of  his  people. 
Their  enemies  may  be  violent  and  unreason- 


CONTENTMENT.  463 

able,  and  so  wholly  culpable,  but  they  do  not 
forget  who  has  said,  ''Vengeance  is  mine;  I 
will  repay."  All  is  committed  to  unerring 
wisdom  and  eternal  love. 

The  matters  of  discontent  are  chiefly  such 
as  relate  to  wealth,  honor,  or  pleasure.  These 
are  the  objects  of  both  lawful  and  unlawful 
care  and  desire.  It  is  quite  reasonable  that 
we  should  be  contented  in  regard  to  each  of 
them. 

1.  As  to  wealth.  The  judgment  of  the 
sober,  and  especially  of  the  wise  and  good  of 
all  ages,  might  reasonably  be  expected  to  have 
some  influence  over  us  to  check  our  discontent 
on  this  point.  Sages  and  saints,  teachers  from 
earth  and  teachers  sent  from  God  have  united 
in  bearing  a  solemn  testimony  against  the  love 
of  money,  and  in  favor  of  contentment  with 
our  lot.     Hear  their  words : 

Socrates:  "  Content  is  natural  wealth." 

Democritus :  ''If  thou  dost  not  desire  much, 
a  little  will  seem  to  thee  an  abundance." 

Horace:  "  Care  and  thirst  for  more  attend 
a  growing  fortune." 

Woolstoncraft :  "The  middle  rank  contains 
most  virtue  and  abilities." 

Clarkson:  "There  is  no  greater  calamity 


464  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

than  that  of  leaving  children  an  affluent  inde- 
pendence." 

Dymond:  ''The  most  rational,  the  wisest, 
the  best  portion  of  mankind,  belong  to  the  class 
who  possess  neither  poverty  nor  riches.'^ 

Wilberforce :  "  A  much  looser  code  of  mor- 
als commonly  prevails  among  the  rich  than  in 
the  lower  and  middling  orders  of  society." 

Lord  Bacon :  ' '  Certainly  great  riches  have 
sold  more  men  than  they  have  bought  out.  As 
baggage  is  to  an  army,  so  are  riches  to  virtue. 
It  hindereth  the  march,  yea,  and  the  care  of  it 
sometimes  loseth  or  disturbeth  the  victory." 

Mrs.  Hannah  More:  "It  is  to  be  feared 
that  the  general  tendency  of  rank,  and  espe- 
cially of  riches,  is  to  withdraw  the  heart  from 
spiritual  exercises." 

Mason:  "To  have  a  portion  in  the  world  is 
a  mercy ;  but  to  have  the  world  for  a  portion 
is  a  misery."  "  We  must  answer  for  our  rich- 
es; but  our  riches  cannot  answer  for  us."  "If 
the  world  be  our  portion  here,  hell  will  be  our 
portion  hereafter." 

Johnson : 

"Wealth  heaped  on  wealth  nor  truth  nor  safety  buys, 
The  clangers  gather  as  the  treasm-es  rise." 

When  his  vast  estates  were  confiscated  for 


CONTENTMENT.  465 

his  adherence  to  God's  truth,  the  Marquis  of 
Yico  said,  "Their  gold  and  silver  perish  with 
them  who  count  all  the  wealth  of  the  world 
worth  one  hour's  communion  with  Christ." 
Pollok: 

"  Gold  many  hunted,  sweat  and  bled  for  gold ; 
Wasted  all  night,  and  labored  all  the  day. 
And  what  was  this  allurement,  dost  thou  ask  ? 
A  dust  dug  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth. 
Which,  being  cast  into  the  fire,  came  out 
A  shining  thing,  that  fools  admired,  and  called 
A  god  ;  and  in  devout  and  humble  jDlight 
Before  it  kneeled,  the  greater  to  the  less ; 
And  on  its  altar  sacrificed  ease,  peace, 
Truth,  faith,  integrity,  good  conscience,  friends, 
Love,  charity,  benevolence." 

Bunyan:  ''Nothing  more  hinders  a  soul 
from  coming  to  Christ  than  a  vain  love  of  the 
world ;  and  till  a  soul  is  freed  from  it,  it  can 
never  have  a  true  love  for  God." 

Beveridge:  "There  is  one  piece  of  folly 
which  all  mankind  are  naturally  guilty  of,  and 
that  is  desire  of  riches,  whereby  men  love  and 
long  for  fine  houses  and  lands,  and  silver  and 
gold,  and  such  like  things.  Just  as  we  may 
have  sometimes  seen  an  idiot  pleasing  himself 
with  having  his  pocket  full  of  stones  or  dirt ;  or 
rather,  as  distracted  persons  desire  swords  or 
such  like  weapons,  whereby  to  destroy  them- 

20* 


466  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

selves;  so  others  that  have  lost  their  senses 
and  the  right  use  of  their  reason,  nothing  will 
serve  them  but  a  great  deal  of  wealth,  howso- 
ever they  come  by  it,  and  therefore  they  go 
through  a  thousand  temptations  and  dangers 
to  get  it ;  and  when  they  have  got  it,  what  then? 
Then  they  are  in  a  thousand  times  worse  con- 
dition than  they  were  before." 

Richard  Baxter  shows  the  malignity  of  the 
sin  of  worldliness  in  several  particulars.  ''  1.  It 
is  a  sin  of  deliberation.  2.  It  is  a  sin  of  choice 
set  up  against  our  chief  interest.  3.  It  is  idol- 
atry. 4.  It  is  contempt  of  heaven,  when  it 
must  be  neglected  and  a  miserable  world  pre- 
ferred. 5.  It  shows  that  unbelief  prevails  in 
the  heart.  6.  It  is  a  debasing  of  the  soul  of 
man.  7.  It  is  a  perverting  of  the  very  drift 
of  a  man's  life.  8.  It  is  a  perverting  of  God's 
creatures  to  an  end  and  use  clean  contrary  to 
that  which  they  were  made  and  given  for.'' 

Owen:  "Learn  to  be  contented  with  your 
lot.  He  is  wise  also  who  took  a  view  of  it  and 
measured  it  and  found  it  just  commensurate  to 
your  good :  had  he  known  that  a  foot's  breadth 
more  had  been  needful,  you  would  have  had 
it." 

Thomas   Scott:    ^^ Reliance   on   increasing 


CONTENTMENT.  467 

riches,  however  obtained,  is  idolatry,  and  to- 
tally inconsistent  with  the  life  of  faith." 

Arndt:  ''Riches  are  like  a  stream,  which 
soon  flows  to  a  person,  and  may  also  soon  flow 
away." 

Home:  ''Of  all  things  here  below,  wealth 
is  that  on  which  poor  deluded  man  is  chiefly 
*  tempted,  even  to  the  loss  of  life,  to  place  his 
confidence ;  and  when  'riches  increase,'  it 
proves  a  hard  task  for  the  human  heart  to 
keep  its  affections  sufficiently  detached  from 
them." 

Such  are  the  views  of  some  of  the  wits, 
poets,  philosophers,  statesmen,  nobles,  and  di- 
vines who  have  warned  us  of  the  folly  of  lov- 
ing gain.  These  men  spoke  from  their  natural 
sense,  or  were  guided  by  religious  principle ; 
but  they  were  all  uninspired.  When  we  open 
the  oracles  of  God,  they  speak  in  a  manner 
still  more  clear  and  solemn. 

King  David,  who  had  personally  tried  both 
humble  life  and  great  wealth,  said,  "A  little 
that  a  righteous  man  hath,  is  better  than  the 
treasures  of  many  wicked."  "If  riches  in- 
crease, set  not  your  heart  upon  them."  Like 
unto  his  is  the  testimony  of  his  son. 

Solomon  says,  "  He  that  is  greedy  of  gain, 


468  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

troubleth  his  own  house."  ''Eiches  profit  not 
in  the  day  of  wrath."  "He  that  trusteth  in 
his  riches  shall  fall."  "There  is  that  maketh 
himself  rich,  yet  hath  nothing:  there  is  that 
maketh  himself  poor,  yet  hath  great  riches." 
"A  good  name  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than 
great  riches."  "Labor  not  to  be  rich:  for 
riches  certainly  make  themselves  wings ;  they 
fly  away  as  an  eagle  towards  heaven."  "He 
that  maketh  haste  to  be  rich  shall  not  be  inno- 
cent." 

Ezekiel  says,  "Behold,  this  was  the  ini- 
quity of  thy  sister  Sodom,  pride,  fulness  of 
bread,  and  abundance  of  idleness  was  in  her 
and  in  her  daughters,  neither  did  she  strength- 
en the  hand  of  the  poor  and  needy." 

Agur:  "Two  things  have  I  required  of 
thee ;  deny  me  them  not  before  I  die :  Eemove 
far  from  me  vanity  and  lies ;  give  me  neither 
poverty  nor  riches;  feed  me  with  food  con- 
venient for  me ;  lest  I  be  full,  and  deny  thee, 
and  say,  Who  is  the  Lord  ?  or  lest  I  be  poor 
and  steal,  and  take  the  name  of  my  God  in 
vain." 

John:  "Love  not  the  world,  neither  the 
things  that  are  in  the  world.  If  any  man  love 
the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him." 


CONTENTMENT.  469 

James:  "Go  to  now,  ye  rich  men,  weep 
and  howl  for  your  miseries  that  shall  come 
upon  you.  Your  riches  are  corrupted,  and 
your  garments  are  moth-eaten.  Your  gold 
and  silver  is  cankered;  and  the  rust  of  them 
shall  be  a  witness  against  you,  and  shall  eat 
your  flesh  as  it  were  fire.  Ye  have  heaped 
treasure  together  for  the  last  days." 

Paul:  "They  that  will  be  rich  fall  into 
temptation  and  a  snare,  and  into  many  foolish 
and  hurtful  lusts,  which  drown  men  in  destruc- 
tion and  perdition.  For  the  love  of  money  is 
the  root  of  all  evil ;  which  wliile  some  coveted 
after,  they  have  pierced  themselves  through 
with  many  sorrows.''  "  Charge  them  that  are 
rich  in  this  world,  that  they  be  not  high-mind- 
ed, nor  trust  in  uncertain  riches,  but  in  the 
living  God,  who  giveth  us  richly  all  things  to 
enjoy ;  that  they  do  good,  that  they  be  rich  in 
good  works,  ready  to  distribute,  willing  to 
communicate ;  laying  up  for  themselves  a  good 
foundation  against  the  time  to  come,  that  they 
may  lay  hold  on  eternal  life." 

But  of  all  the  teachers  ever  sent  by  God  to 
men,  his  dear  Son  spoke  the  most  fully  and 
clearly  respecting  riches.  Jesus  Christ  said, 
**  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." 


470  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

''Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon 
earth,  where  moth  and  rust  doth  corrupt,  and 
where  thieves  break  through  and  steal;  but 
lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven, 
where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and 
where  thieves  do  not  break  through  nor  steal : 
for  where  your  treasure  is,  there  will  your 
heart  be  also."  "Ye  cannot  serve  God  and 
mammon."  ''Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of 
God  and  his  righteousness,  and  all  these  things 
shall  be  added  unto  you."  "Take  heed,  and 
beware  of  covetousness."  "  Seek  3^e  not  what 
ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye  shall  drink,  neither  be 
ye  of  doubtful  mind.  For  all  these  things  do 
the  Gentiles  seek  after ;  and  your  Father  know- 
est  that  ye  have  need  of  these  things."  "It 
is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  a  needle's 
eye  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God."  "Make  to  yourselves  friends 
of  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness ;  that  when 
ye  fail  they  may  receive  you  into  everlasting 
habitations.  If  ye  have  not  been  faithful  in 
the  unrighteous  mammon,  who  will  commit  to 
you  the  true  riches?"  "The  cares  of  this 
world  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches  choke  the 
word."  "Blessed  be  ye  poor;  for  yours  is 
the  kingdom  of  God.     Blessed  are  ye  tha-t 


CONTENTMENT.  471 

hunger  now;  for  ye  shall  be  filled.  Blessed 
are  ye  that  weep  now;  for  ye  shall  laugh. 
But  woe  unto  you  that  are  rich ;  for  ye  have 
received  your  consolation.  Woe  unto  you 
that  are  full ;  for  ye  shall  hunger.  Woe  unto 
you  that  laugh  now;  for  ye  shall  mourn  and 
weep.'^ 

Thus  spoke  the  Messiah,  the  one  Mediator 
between  Grod  and  man.  Shall  not  we  be  wiser 
for  all  these  instructions  ?  The  Author  of  our 
religion  was  the  only  sinless  being  ever  born 
of  woman.  He  lived  and  died  in  poverty. 
He  knows,  and  he  has  felt,  the  humiliation  of 
dependence. 

Grod  has  greatly  honored  virtuous  poverty 
in  every  age,  as  the  history  of  science,  of  liter- 
ature, of  philosophy,  of  poetry,  and  of  piety  in 
every  country  shows.  He  takes  the  poor  from 
the  dunghill,  and  sets  him  among  princes. 
Though  poverty  is  no  virtue,  yet  most  of  the 
striking  examples  of  virtue  have  been  from  hum- 
ble life.  Poverty  brought  on  by  indolence  or 
waste  is  a  disgrace,  because  it  is  a  punishment ; 
but  wealth  is  the  great  corrupter  of  all  who 
have  it,  and  have  not  with  it  unusual  grace. 

A  few  of  our  race  live  and  labor,  that  they 
may  have  the  means  of  doing  good  to  others. 


472  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

This  is  scriptural:  "Let  him  that  stole  steal 
no  more;  but  rather  let  him  labor,  working 
with  his  own  hands  the  thing  that  is  good,  that 
he  may  have  to  give  to  him  that  needeth.'' 
Eph.  4  :  28.  One  of  the  calmest  and  profound- 
est  writers  on  political  economy  some  years 
ago  said,  "I  suppose  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society,  during  the  twenty  or  thirty 
years  that  it  has  existed,  has  done  more  direct 
good  in  the  world — ^has  had  a  greater  effect  in 
meliorating  the  condition  of  the  human  spe- 
cies— than  all  the  measures  which  have  been 
directed  to  the  same  ends  by  all  the  prime 
ministers  of  Europe  during  a  century.''  Oh 
that  men  everywhere  were  moved  by  that  "in- 
satiable benevolence  which,  not  contented  with 
reigning  in  the  dispensation  of  happiness  during 
the  contracted  term  of  human  life,"  or  on  the 
narrow  theatre  of  its  own  vicinage,  "strains  with 
all  the  graspings  and  reachings  of  a  vivacious 
mind  to  extend  the  dominion  of  its  bounty  be- 
yond the  limits  "  of  one  country  or  of  one  gen- 
eration. Were  such  the  temper  of  all  men,  we 
should  have  no  need  of  preaching  sermons  to 
check  the  rapacity  or  moderate  the  desires  of 
each  succeeding  generation,  and  bring  human 
wishes  within  the  limits  of  a  holy  contentment. 


CONTENTMENT.  473 

People  devoted  to  doing  good  are  commonly  a 
cheerful  and  happy  class  of  persons. 

2.  As  to  honor,  rank,  standing  in  the  world, 
much  needs  not  be  said  to  make  a  wise  man 
more  contented  with  his  lot.  For  what  is  more 
fickle  than  popular  favor?  The  man  whose 
name  is  to-day  mingled  with  shouts  of  wel- 
come, is  to-morrow  met  with  hisses  and  hoot- 
ings.  The  very  crowd  that  spread  branches 
in  the  way,  and  cried,  "Hosanna,  blessed  is  he 
that  Cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,"  as  Jesus 
entered  Jerusalem  in  the  triumph  which  proph- 
ecy had  decreed  to  him,  did  in  three  days 
vociferate,  "Not  this  man,  but  Barabbas," 
''Away  with  this  fellow,"  "Crucify  him,  cru- 
cify him."  The  very  city  that  murdered  the 
prophets  also  built  their  sepulchres.  It  is  the 
habit  of  popular  opinion  to  shift  incessantly. 
Men  are  constant  only  in  fickleness.  But  if 
popular  favor  was  perfectly  settled,  what  is  it 
but  a  puff  of  wind  ?  What  good  can  it  do  any 
man  ?  If  the  praise  of  others  is  undeserved,  it 
is  but  flattery,  and  may  lure  us  to  self-conceit 
and  ruin.  If  it  is  merited  and  just,  we  are  apt 
to  know  our  own  virtues  soon  enough,  without 
having  them  trumpeted  by  others. 

Besides,  the  best  men  that  ever  lived  have 


474  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

had  their  names  cast  out  as  evil — have  been  far 
more  frequently  under  the  ban  than  under  the 
smile  of  their  generation,  and  in  many  cases 
have  died  amid  the  execrations  of  their  con- 
temporaries. He  has  the  best  name  who  gets 
the  ''white  stone,  and  in  the  stone  a  new  name 
written,  which  no  man  knoweth  saving  he  that 
receiveth  it."  How  often  men  are  warned  not 
to  seek  the  favor  of  the  world.  In  one  of  the 
great  contests  in  England  for  a  seat  in  parlia- 
ment, one  of  the  candidates  was  suddenly  called 
out  of  time.  Burke,  the  survivor,  on  that  oc- 
casion uttered  a  sentence  which  has  become 
like  one  of  our  proverbs:  "What  shadows  we 
are,  and  what  shadows  we  pursue." 

.3.  But  some  are  not  content  because  they 
have  so  few  worldly  pleasures.  Do  they  not 
know  that  all  pleasure  but  that  which  springs 
from  lawful  sources  leaves  a  sting  behind? 
Communion  with  God  has  its  pleasures  that 
do  not  cloy  the  appetite.  ''  She  that  liveth  in 
pleasure  is  dead  while  she  liveth."  Commonly 
the  more  worldly  pleasure  the  less  happiness 
there  is.  The  more  pleasure,  the  more  sin 
also.  The  more  pleasure,  the  more  dreadful 
the  last  account.  Bunyan  says,  "The  epicure, 
that  delighteth  in  the  dainties  of  this  world, 


CONTENTMENT.  475 

little  thinketh  that  these  very  creatures  will 
one  day  witness  against  him."  The  pleasures 
of  sin  are  but  for  a  season,  and  that  season  so 
short.  The  pleasures  of  the  table  are  in  the 
end  followed  by  dreadful  forms  of  disease  and 
anguish.  The  pleasures  of  sense  are  wholly  in- 
sufficient to  give  permanent  enjoyment.  ' '  The 
eye  is  not  satisfied  with  seeing,  n-or  the  ear 
with  hearing." 

Contentment  is  a  most  reasonable  duty. 
It  is  best  that  your  will  should  not  control 
your  afiuirs.  Your  health,  ease,  success,  wealth, 
reputation,  and  enjoyment  deeply  concern  you ; 
but  are  you  fit  to  direct  respecting  them  ?  If 
God  should  give  you  your  way,  how  much 
would  satisfy  you?  Would  not  your  desires 
soon  be  drowned  in  cares  and  crimes  and  sor- 
rows ?  Is  it  best  for  you  to  have  uninterrupted 
health  ?  Without  some  bodily  pain,  jovl  might 
forget  that  you  were  mortal.  It  would  be  more 
painful  to  a  truly  pious  man  to  say  when,  how 
long,  and  how  severely  he  should  be  sick,  than 
it  would  be  to  be  sick  all  his  life.  A  greater 
name  than  you  now  have  might  be  your  down- 
fall. More  ease  might  subject  you  to  dreadful 
diseases.  Make  not  your  lot  worse  by  sinful 
repinings. 


476  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

You  have  not  shown  wisdom  sufficient  to 
direct  any  of  your  own  affairs.  It  is  a  mercy 
to  us  all  that  ''  it  is  not  in  man  that  walketh  to 
direct  his  steps."  Human  knowledge  is  igno- 
rance, human  prudence  folly,  human  strength 
weakness,  human  virtue  a  slender  reed.  God 
may  cross  you  without  doing  you  any  injustice. 
Your  will  is  the  will  of  a  sinner.  Sometimes 
Grod  has  tried  you  by  gratifying  your  desires 
for  something  new,  something  different.  The 
result  has  not  generally  been  favorable.  "He 
gave  them  a  king  in  his  anger,  and  took  him 
away  in  his  wrath."  You  have  often  done 
worse  when  full  than  when  empty.  "  Jeshu- 
run  waxed  fat  and  kicked."  Good  Hezekiah 
greatly  desired  life,  and  God  gave  him  fifteen 
years  more ;  but  in  that  time  he  greatly 
erred,  and  left  a  sad  blot  on  his  name.  A 
man  may  live  too  long  for  his  own  peace, 
or  honor,  or  usefulness.  Your  wishes  are 
not  always  wise.  A  child  was  sick.  His 
mother  was  almost  frantic.  She  fasted,  she 
fainted,  she  wept,  she  screamed.  God  re- 
stored her  boy  to  health,  and  at  manhood  he 
committed  felony,  was  arrested,  imprisoned, 
convicted,  executed,  and  broke  her  heart. 
How  much  less  would  she  have  suffered  had 


CONTENTMENT.  477 

he  died  in  childhood.     Your  views  are  liable 
to  be  full  of  error. 

But  God  is  fit  to  govern  you  and  all  things. 
He  knows  what  is  best  for  you,  how  much  you 
can  bear,  and  when  a  smile  or  a  stroke  will  do 
you  most  good.  His  grace  is  great,  and  so  are 
his  truth,  and  power,  and  wisdom.  If  he  shall 
direct,  all  things  will  go  right.  He  is  never 
deceived  nor  outwitted.  He  is  gentle  and 
kind.  "He  knoweth  our  frame;  he  remem- 
bereth  that  we  are  dust."  His  will  is  holy, 
just,  and  good.  He  keepeth  mercy  for  thou- 
sands. His  faithfulness  is  unto  all  generations. 
You  should  be  glad  that  Jehovah  governs  the 
universe,  that  he  governs  you.  If  wise,  thou 
wilt  "  trust  in  the  Lord  and  do  good,  and  ver-* 
ily  thou  shalt  be  fed;"  for  he  hath  said,  "I 
will  never  leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee."  What 
a  promise  !  what  a  promise  ! 

Learn,  in  whatever  state  you  are,  there- 
with to  be  content.  "You  are  the  borrower, 
not  the  owner  of  created  comfort."  Suppress 
the  first  risings  of  ambition,  covetousness,  self- 
will,  restlessness,  and  the  spirit  of  murmuring. 
Rest  quietly  in  God.  The  future  will  bring  a 
full  explanation  of  the  present.  Treasure  up 
in  your  heart  the  blessed  promises  of  God. 


478  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Incessantly  ask  the  Lord  to  increase  your  faith. 
Diligently  perform  all  known  duties,  especially 
relative  duties.  Be  of  good  courage,  and  he 
shall  strengthen  your  heart.  Say  not,  God 
hath  forgotten,  or  is  as  a  stranger  that  tarrieth 
for  a  night.  Eesist  all  unworthy  thoughts  of 
your  Saviour  and  heavenly  Father.  Stand  in 
your  lot,  and  leave  results  with  him  who  gov- 
erns all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own 
will.  So  shall  you  walk  safely,  and  light  shall 
be  your  burden,  and  soon  the  Almighty  shall 
call  you  to  himself,  and  '^the  days  of  thy 
mourning  shall  be  ended."  But  till  that  day 
of  joy  shall  come,  rest  in  the  Lord,  and  wait  pa- 
tiently for  him,  remembering  that  "we  brought 
nothing  into  this  world,  and  it  is  certain  we 
can  carry  nothing  out."  It  was  one  of  the 
greatest  attainments  ever  made,  when  Paul  was 
able  to  say,  ''I  know  both  how  to  be  abased, 
and  I  know  how  to  abound ;  everywhere,  and 
in  all  things,  I  am  instructed  both  to  be  full 
and  to  be  hungry,  both  to  abound  and  to  suffer 
need." 

Bishop  Hall  says,  "If  a  man  would  be  rich, 
honorable,  or  aged,  he  should  not  strive  so 
much  to  add  to  his  wealth,  reputation,  or  years, 
as  to  detract  from  his  desires.     For  certainly 


CONTENTMENT.  479 

in  these  things  he  hath  the  most  that  desireth 
least.  A  poor  man  that  hath  little  and  desires 
no  more,  is  in  truth  richer  than  the  greatest 
monarch  who  thinks  he  hath  not  what  he 
should  or  what  he  might,  or  who  grieves  that 
there  is  no  more  to  have.  It  is  not  necessity 
but  ambition  that  sets  men's  hearts  on  the 
rack." 

There  are  three  considerations  which  should 
quite  reconcile  us  to  be  without  much  of  what 
mankind  are  generally  so  greedy  after. 

The  first  is,  that  God  generally  gives  the 
great  amount  of  the  wealth,  honors,  and  pleas- 
ures of  this  world  to  his  foes.  How  seldom  do 
the  potentates  of  earth  fear  God.  How  few 
very  rich  men  love  prayer.  The  sons  of 
pleasure  are  never  the  sons  of  God.  No  wise 
man  should  care  much  for  that  which  God 
habitually  bestows  on  those  who  have  no  share 
in  his  saving  mercy,  and  shall  never  see  his 
face  in  peace. 

The  second  consideration  is,  that  the  arts 
by  which  these  things  may  be,  and  often  are 
gained,  are  of  the  lowest  kind.  It  requires 
neither  much  sense  nor  much  virtue  to  build 
up  a  great  fortune,  to  have  many  praising  you, 
or  to  be  called  a  man  of  pleasure.     One  great 


480  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

secret  in  the  lives  of  many  who  rise  to  emi- 
nence in  these  things  is,  that  first  of  all  they 
deny  God,  and  give  themselves  over  to  irre- 
ligion.  They  part  with  a  good  conscience. 
They  may  speak  much  of  honor,  but  often 
there  is  no  honor  there.  If  a  man  will  but 
agree  to  flatter  and  cozen,  lie  and  defraud, 
oppress  and  banter ;  if  he  will  allow  his  self- 
ishness to  reign  supreme;  if  he  will  harden 
his  heart  against  the  demands  of  justice,  the 
dictates  of  equity,  and  the  urgencies  of  char- 
ity ;  if  he  will  hold  fast  all  he  gets,  and  get  all 
he  can,  he  may  be  rich ;  and  if  he  can  once 
acquire  wealth,  there  are  always  some  that 
will  sound  his  praise;  and  so  he  may  by 
money  and  flattery  buy  his  way  to  power  and 
notoriety.  It  is  the  deliberate  judgment  of 
many  close  observers,  that  the  mass  of  the 
successful  in  worldly  schemes  do  not  possess 
the  average  of  intellect,  and  are  below  the 
average  in  want  of  good  feeling  and  good  con- 
duct. This  may  seem  strange  to  some,  but  let 
every  man  look  over  the  list  of  his  acquaint- 
ance, and  see  if  it  is  not  so.  The  butt  of  many 
a  family  dies  worth  more  than  all  the  rest  of 
his  father's  children.  "Godliness  with  con- 
tentment is  great  gain." 


CONTENTMENT.  481 

The  third  consideration  is,  that  nothing  can 
make  us  happy  if  our  minds  are  restless  and 
grasping ;  but  that  contentment  is  itself  riches, 
honors,  and  i3leasures.  "The  sleep  of  the  la- 
boring man  is  sweet,  whether  he  eat  much  or 
little;  but  the  abundance  of  the  rich  will  not 
suffer  him  to  sleep."  The  Persians  have  this 
proverb:  "Ten  poor  men  can  sleep  tranquilly 
upon  a  mat ;  but  two  kings  are  not  able  to  live 
at  peace  in  a  quarter  of  the  world."  And  one 
of  our  own  poets  has  said, 

*' Contentment  gives  a  crown 
Where  fortune  hath  denied  it." 


vital  GodHness.  21 


482  VITAL  GODLINESS. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

PATIENCE. 

In  the  Greek  Testament  are  two  words 
whicli  we  translate  patience.  One  of  these  is 
rendered  by  Robinson  longanimity,  long-suffer- 
ing, forbearance,  patient  endwance,  patience.  In 
Scripture  it  is  used  to  express  the  forbearance 
or  patience  of  God  towards  sinners  in  delay- 
ing their  just  punishment.  Rom.  2  :  4 ;  9  :  22  ; 
2  Pet.  3  :  15.  It  also  expresses  human  for- 
bearance, or  the  patience  of  one  man  towards 
another.  Matt.  18  :  26,  29  ;  Eph.  4  :  2.  The 
verb  from  which  it  is  derived  is  used  to  ex- 
press the  delay  of  God  to  deliver  his  perse- 
cuted people.  Luke  18:7.  And  another  sig- 
nification is,  that  of  man's  quietly  and  confi- 
dently awaiting  blessings  from  God,  as  Gal. 
5  :  22.  In  general  this  patience  is  opposed  to 
all  hastiness  of  spirit  towards  God  or  man. 

The  other  word  in  the  Greek  Testament 
rendered  patience  is  perhaps  of  still  more  fre- 
quent use,  and  signifies  endurance,  constancy, 
patience.  It  often  occurs  in  the  epistles  of  the 
New  Testament.   In  many  cases  it  clearly  con- 


PATIENCE.  483 

veys  the  idea  of  perseverance  in  duty  at  all 
risks  and  hazards  with  hope  towards  God. 

Buck  defines  patience  to  be  "that  calm 
and  unruffled  temper  with  which  a  good  man 
bears  the  evils  of  life." 

Barrow  says,  "Patience  is  that  virtue 
which  qualifieth  us  to  bear  all  conditions  and 
all  events,  by  God's  disposal  incident  to  us, 
with  such  apprehensions  and  persuasions  of 
mind,  such  dispositions  and  affections  of  heart, 
such  external  deportments  and  practices  of  life, 
as  God  requireth  and  good  reason  directeth." 

Evans  says,  "Christian  jDatience  is  a  dis- 
position that  keeps  us  calm  and  composed  in 
our  frame,  and  steady  in  the  practice  of  our 
duty  under  the  sense  of  our  afflictions  or  in  the 
delay  of  our  hopes." 

Charnock  says, -"In  regard  of  God,  patience 
is  a  submission  to  his  sovereignty."  ...  "To 
be  patient  because  we  cannot  avoid  or  resist 
it,  is  a  violent,  not  a  loyal  patience ;  but  to 
submit  because  it  is  the  will  of  God  to  inflict 
it,  to  be  silent  because  the  sovereignty  of  God 
doth  order  it,  is  a  patience  of  a  true  complex- 
ion." 

Mason  says,  "Christian  patience  is  not  a 
careless  indolence,  a  stupid  insensibility,  me- 


484:  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

chanical  bravery,  constitutional  fortitude,  a 
daring  stoutness  of  spirit,  resulting  from  fatal- 
ism, philosophy,  or  pride :  it  is  derived  from  a 
divine  agency,  nourished  by  heavenly  truth, 
and  guided  by  scriptural  rules." 

Bates  says,  "The  insensibility  of  God's 
hand  inflicting  evils  is  as  different  from  Chris- 
tian patience  and  constancy,  as  a  mortal  leth- 
argy is  from  the  quiet,  soft  sleep  of  health: 
nothing  kindles  his  anger  more  than  neglect- 
ing it ;  it  is  equally  provoking  with  the  despis- 
ing of  his  love ;  it  is  a  symptom  of  a  wretched 
state  of  soul:  if  there  proceed  no  sighs  and 
groans,  no  signs  of  grief  from  the  sense  of 
God's  displeasure,  it  is  a  sad  evidence  there  is 
no  spiritual  life.  Indolence  under  the  effects 
of  God's  anger  is  like  the  stillness  of  the  Dead 
sea,  whose  calm  is  a  curse.'-' 

Dilwyn  says,  "A  phlegmatic  insensibility 
is  as  different  from  patience  as  a  pool  is  from 
a  harbor.  Into  the  one  indolence  naturally 
sinks  us ;  but  if  we  arrive  at  the  other,  it  is  by 
encountering  many  an  adverse  wind  and  rough 
wave,  with  a  more  skilful  pilot  at  the  helm 
than  self,  and  a  company  under  better  com- 
mand than  the  passions." 

From  what  has  been  said  it  appears  that 


PATIENCE.  485 

patience  has  various  objects.  Towards  God  it 
is  resigned,  and  says,  "I  will  bear  the  indig- 
nation of  the  Lord."  Towards  Christian  men, 
who  justly  reprove  us,  it  is  meek,  and  says, 
"Let  the  righteous  smite  me."  Towards  wick- 
ed and  unreasonable  men,  who  love  to  see  oth- 
ers afflicted,  it  says,  "Eejoice  not  against  me, 
0  mine  enemy."  Towards  the  ills  under 
which  we  are  called  to  suffer,  it  is  not  violent 
and  imperious,  but  rather  gives  them  a  kind 
entertainment.  Under  provocation  it  is  gentle 
and  not  resentful.  It  blesses  and  curses  not. 
It  bears  insults  and  injuries  without  malice.  It 
is  "  patient  toward  all  men."  Under  affliction 
it  is  quiet  and  submissive.  It  will  use  no  wick- 
ed measures  to  relieve  even  great  distresses. 
It  is  ''patient  in  tribulation,"  in  the  extremest 
sufferings.  Under  delays  it  is  still  constant. 
It  loves  to  leave  every  thing  in  the  hands  of 
the  Father.  To  this  Paul  refers  when  he  says, 
"Ye  have  need  of  patience,  that,  after  ye  have 
done  the  will  of  God,  ye  might  receive  the 
promise.  For  yet  a  little  while,  and  he  that 
shall  come  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry." 
Heb.  10  :  36,  37. 

The  duty  of  patience  is  illustrated  in  the 
Scriptures  by  several  different  similes.     The 


486  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

first  is  that  of  the  farmer.  ''Be  patient  there- 
fore, brethren,  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord. 
Behold,  the  husbandman  waiteth  for  the  pre- 
cious fruit  of  the  earth,  and  hath  long  patience 
for  it,  until  he  receive  the  early  and  latter 
rain."  Jas.  5  :  7.  The  precious  seed  is  often 
sown  in  autumn.  For  moisture  it  is  dependent 
on  dews  and  rains,  over  which  the  farmer  has 
no  control.  Nor  can  he  either  send  or  with- 
hold the  snow  for  its  protection  against  the 
rigors  of  winter.  Nor  can  he  defend  it  against 
blight  and  mildew  and  the  caterpillar  and  the 
army- worm.  Nor  can  he  reap  his  harvest  for 
months  after  the  seed-time.  So  that  "long 
patience  '*  is  required.  At  last  the  precious 
fruits  come,  and  all  his  toils  are  rewarded  and 
all  his  hopes  realized. 

Another  mode  of  representing  patience  is 
by  the  life  and  habits  of  a  city  watchman. 
Thus  the  psalmist  says,  "I  wait  for  the  Lord, 
my  soul  doth  wait,  and  in  his  word  do  I  hope. 
My  soul  waiteth  for  the  Lord  more  than  they 
that  watch  for  the  morning:  I  say,  more  than 
they  that  watch  for  the  morning."  Psalm 
130  :  5,  G.  The  night  may  be  dark  and  long 
and  stormy,  but  the  longest  night  has  its  morn- 
ing, the  darkest  night  has  the  day-spring  com- 


PATIENCE.  4:87 

ing  after  it,  and  the  most  stormy  weather  is 
followed  by  calm  and  sunshine.  The  weather- 
beaten  watchman  knows  that  he  will  be  allow- 
ed to  cease  his  rounds  and  at  last  rest  in  his 
bed.  He  rejoices  in  hope  of  sure  release.  He 
longs  for  the  time  to  come.  Yet  he  frets  not 
because  it  seems  to  tarry.  He  knows  he  can- 
not hasten  it.  If  he  could  do  away  with  night 
altogether,  it  would  but  spoil  his  business.  If 
he  could  materially  abbreviate  it,  he  would 
but  diminish  his  gains.  So  he  enters  upon  his 
beat  and  its  duties  with  firmness  and  con- 
stancy. 

A  third  mode  of  representing  this  patience 
is  by  the  duties  and  habits  of  a  servant.  "Be- 
hold, as  the  eyes  of  servants  look  unto  the 
hand  of  their  masters,  and  as  the  eyes  of  a 
maiden  unto  the  hand  of  her  mistress ;  so  our 
eyes  wait  upon  the  Lord  our  God,  until  that 
he  have  mercy  upon  us."  Psa.  123  :  2.  The 
context  shows  that  the  state  of  mind  here  de- 
scribed had  special  reference  to  the  state  of  the 
righteous  as  called  to  endure  the  contempt  and 
scorning  of  the  proud. 

A  quiet  patient  spirit  is  also  set  forth  in 
God's  word  by  the  behavior  of  a  weaned  child. 
David  says,  "Surely  I  have  behaved  and  qui- 


488  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

eted  myself  as  a  child  that  is  weaned  of  his 
mother :  my  soul  is  even  as  a  weaned  child." 
Psa.  131  :  2.  This  process,  when  first  com- 
menced, produces  wakefulness,  restlessness, 
fretfulness;  but  when  completed,  it  produces 
quietness  and  submission.  An  illustration  so 
familiar  to  all  parents  needs  no  further  expla- 
nation. 

Job  uses  another  simile  to  set  forth  the 
same  thing,  that  of  a  hireling,  who  watched  the 
lengthening  shadows  of  the  evening,  and  longed 
for  his  reward.  He  had  too  much  principle  to 
desert  his  work  or  to  attempt  to  defraud  his 
employer.  But  at  the  going  down  of  the  sun 
he  looked  for  release.  This  seems  to  be  a 
favorite  mode  of  expressing  the  views  of  life 
entertained  by  Job  in  the  time  of  his  great  and 
sore  afflictions.     Job  7:1,  2 ;  14:6. 

When  examples  of  patience  are  demanded, 
we  can  be  at  no  loss.  James  says,  "Take,  my 
brethren,  the  prophets,  who  have  spoken  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  for  an  example  of  suffering 
affliction,  and  of  patience.  Behold,  we  count 
them  happy  which  endure.  Ye  have  heard  of 
the  patience  of  Job,  and  have  seen  the  end  of 
the  Lord ;  that  the  Lord  is  very  pitiful,  and  of 
tender  mercy." 


PATIENCE.  489 

Time  would  fail  us  to  tell  of  Isaiah  royally 
descended,  who  for  his  fidelity  is  said  to  have 
been  nailed  up  in  a  box  and  sawn  asunder ;  of 
Jeremiah  and  all  his  suffering  in  the  slimy  pit 
and  elsewhere ;  of  Daniel  in  the  lions'  den ;  of 
the  faithful  Hebrews  in  the  fiery  furnace ;  and 
of  all  those  great  sufferers  for  the  truth  and 
honor  of  God  in  ancient  times.  Look  also  at 
our  forefathers  in  Scotland,  England,  Ireland, 
France,  Holland,  and  Germany. 

But  the  apostle  James  selects  Job  as  a 
special  example.  And  indeed  he  was  the  most 
patient  of  all  merely  human  sufferers.  What 
did  he  not  lose  without  one  sinful  word?  Seven 
thousand  sheep,  three  thousand  camels,  five 
hundred  yoke  of  oxen,  five  hundred  she-asses, 
a  great  retinue  of  servants,  seven  sons  and 
three  daughters,  and  bodily  health  were  all 
taken,  yet  in  all  this  his  patience  seems  not 
once  to  have  failed.  His  grief  was  heavier 
than  the  sand  of  the  sea.  The  arrows  of  the 
Almighty  were  within  him,  and  their  poison 
was  drinking  up  his  spirits.  Yea,  the  terrors 
of  God  set  themselves  against  him.  Yet  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  years  afterwards  James 
points  to  him  as  the  brightest  example  of  pa- 
tience among  the  ancient  servants  of  God. 

21* 


490  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

The  most  illustrious  sufferer  and  the  best 
pattern  of  patience  was  Jesus  Christ.  None 
suffered  so  greatly,  none  suffered  so  patiently. 
He  endured  mockery,  contradiction,  scourg- 
ing, and  death  at  the  hand  of  man.  He  also 
bore  the  wrath  of  God.  The  violence  of  men 
and  the  wrath  of  God,  treachery  and  desertion 
by  his  disciples,  and  the  hiding  of  his  Father's 
face,  all  came  on  him  at  once.  Yet  he  bore  it 
all  in  a  blameless  manner.  "When  reviled, 
he  reviled  not  again;  when  he  suffered,  he 
threatened  not,  but  committed  himself  to  him 
that  judgeth  righteously."  ''For  this  cause," 
says  he,  "came  I  to  this  hour."  "  Not  my  will, 
but  thine  be  done."  None  can  be  at  a  loss  for 
a  safe  guide,  if  he  will  but  turn  his  eyes  to 
Christ.  There  all  is  constancy,  forbearance, 
quiet,  unmurmuring  endurance,  unflinching 
obedience  ;  nature  indeed  lifting  up  both  hands 
in  terror  and  amazement,  but  principle  and 
piety  triumphing  over  all  temptations.  Bless- 
ed be  God,  our  Guide  and  Pattern  has  left  us 
a  perfect  example. 

This  patience  is  the  fruit  of  God's  Spirit. 
Paul  prayed  that  his  Colossian  converts  "might 
walk  worthy  of  the  Lord  unto  all  pleasing, 
being  fruitful  in  every  good  work,  and  increas- 


PATIENCE.  491 

ing  ill  the  knowledge  of  God;  strengthened 
with  all  might,  according  to  his  glorious  power, 
unto  all  patience  and  long-suffering,  with  joy- 
fulness."  Col.  1:10,  11.  Every  good  gift 
comes  from  heaven.  Nature  is  impatient,  self- 
willed,  restless,  turbulent.  Men  must  be  taught 
of  Grod,  or  they  never  will  know  any  thing  to 
purpose.  Used  as  men  are  to  some  kinds  or 
degrees  of  inconvenience,  conscious  as  they 
ought  to  be  that  they  deserve  far  worse  than 
ever  befalls  them,  yet  all  this  is  to  no  purpose 
until  God  by  his  Spirit  gives  them  affections 
and  principles  which  are  quite  above  the  meas- 
ure and  strength  of  nature. 

That  this  grace  enters  into  the  essentials  of 
Christian  character,  is  certain  from  the  fact 
that  it  is  twice  so  catalogued.  In  1  Tim.  6 :11, 
Paul  exhorts  Timothy  to  "follow  after  right- 
eousness, godliness,  faith,  love,  patience,  meek- 
ness." And  in  Galatians  5  :  22,  23,  he  says  the 
fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suf- 
fering," or  patience,  "gentleness,  goodness, 
faith,  meekness,  temperance."  He  who  dares 
erase  from  either  catalogue  a  single  word, 
takes  great  liberties  with  sacred  things,  and 
brings  his  soul  into  jeopardy.  It  is  also  obvi- 
ous from  the  very  nature  of  holiness,  and  from 


492  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

the  nature  of  heavenly  things.  Would  not  a 
fiery,  impatient  spirit  be  every  way  as  unlove- 
ly and  as  unfit  for  the  society  above  as  the 
spirit  of  revenge,  of  pride,  or  of  covetousness  ? 
If  we  have  an  impatient  temper,  occasions 
and  temptations  will  not  be  wanting  to  elicit  it. 
The  world  is  full  of  evil-doers  and  evil-doings, 
of  evil-speakers  and  evil-speeches,  of  evil-sur- 
misers  and  evil-surmisings.  "  Fret  not  thyself 
because  of  evil-doers,  neither  be  thou  envious 
against  the  workers  of  iniquity.  For  they 
shall  soon  be  cut  down  like  the  grass,  and  with- 
er as  the  green  herb.  .  .  .  Fret  not  thyself  in 
anywise  to  do  evil.'^  Psa.  37:1,  2,  8.  Some- 
times the  power  of  wicked  men  is  fearful,  and 
wielded  in  the  most  wanton  and  oppressive 
manner.  The  beast  which  rose  out  of  the  sea, 
having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  and  upon 
his  horns  ten  crowns,  and  upon  his  heads  the 
name  of  blasphemy,  has  always  had  a  mouth 
speaking  great  things  and  blasphemies;  and 
has  often  had  power  to  make  war  with  the 
saints,  and  to  overcome  them;  and  all  whose 
names  are  not  written  in  the  book  of  life  of  the 
Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
do  at  times  worship  him.  And  he  carries 
God's  people  into  captivity,  and  he  slays  them 


PATIENCE.  493 

with  the  sword.  In  such  a  state  of  things  as 
this,  we  see  ''the  patience  and  the  faith  of  the 
saints.''  Rev.  13: 10.  As  a  roaring  lion,  Sa- 
tan goeth  about  seeking  whom  he  may  devour. 

Doubtless  there  is  a  just  anger,  a  righteous 
indignation  against  wrongs  and  wrong-doers. 
It  is  based  on  a  sense  of  justice.  But  anger 
which  results  from  our  evil  tempers,  which  is 
violent  or  perpetuated,  does  no  good.  It  tor- 
ments him  who  exercises  it.  It  grieves  his 
best  friends;  it  terrifies  his  dependents.  It 
makes  intercourse  with  him  a  source  of  misery. 
It  is  commonly  followed  by  dreadful  reproach- 
es of  conscience.  It  drives  away  many  who 
would  otherwise  delight  to  do  one  a  service. 
It  mends  no  mistakes,  relieves  no  pains,  re- 
pairs no  losses.  And  it  is  infectious,  and  in 
turn  communicated  to  those  around  us. 

A  time  of  sickness  generally  tries  one's 
patience.  There  is  always  much  sickness  in 
the  world.  No  man  can  entirely  escape  it  but 
by  a  sudden  death,  which  in  a  moment  calls 
him  into  eternity.  Some  sicknesses  waste  the 
frame  without  beclouding  the  mind.  Others 
beget  stupor,  which  destroys  sensibility  to 
pain.  But  generally  sickness  renders  men  less 
capable  of  reasoning  soundly  and  feeling  kind- 


494:  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

ly  than  before.  To  him  who  is  of  a  patient 
spirit,  sickness  may,  without  a  miracle,  be  a 
means  of  great  enjoyment.  It  enables  a  good 
man  to  test  his  principles.  The  severer  the 
sickness  in  such  cases,  the  richer  the  blessings 
following.  Probably  the  happiest  person  in 
many  a  large  city  in  Christian  lands  is  some 
child  of  God,  whose  bodily  health  makes  him 
a  stranger  to  sound  sleep,  and  a  stranger  also 
to  the  house  of  Grod.  There  is  still  living  a 
man  who  says  he  has  seen  four  very  happy 
days.  One  was  the  day  of  his  conversion; 
another  was  the  day  of  his  marriage  ;  the  other 
two  were  days  spent  in  a  sick-bed  far  from 
home. 

The  church  has  had  few  brighter  ornaments 
than  the  celebrated  Andrew  Rivet.  As  a  stu- 
dent, a  writer,  a  preacher,  a  professor,  he  was 
full  of  life  and  energy;  yet  he  said  he  ''had 
learned  more  divinity  in  ten  days'  sickness 
than  in  fifty  years'  study." 

The  pious  Halyburton,  in  a  state  of  great 
weakness  and  pain,  said,  ''Yerily  there  is  a 
reality  in  religion.  The  little  acquaintance  I 
have  had  with  God  within  these  two  days,  has 
been  better  than  ten  thousand  times  the  pains 
I  have   all  my  life  been  at  about  religion. 


PATIENCE.  495 

These  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  I  have  been 
studying  the  promises ;  but  I  have  seen  more 
of  the  book  of  God  this  night  than  in  all  that 
time.  If  I  had  my  students  about  me  now,  I 
would  give  them  a  lesson  of  divinity." 

In  1826,  one  of  my  class-mates  was  taken 
sick.  His  illness  became  extreme.  His  life 
was  in  great  peril.  At  times  his  pains  were 
excruciating.  He  was  not  at  ease  one  moment. 
Yet  all  who  visited  him  were  witnesses  of  his 
patience  and  jo}^  Their  report  led  others  to 
his  sick-bed.  Many  a  fellow-student  dropped 
his  books  every  day,  and  said,  "I  will  now 
turn  aside  and  see  this  great  sight.''  This 
good  man  died  not  then,  but  lived  to  proclaim 
for  several  years  the  unsearchable  riches  ot 
Christ.  He  bore  with  patience  many  trials, 
and  carried  with  him  through  life  a  sweet  sa- 
vour of  Christ,  and  has  now  fallen  asleep.  This 
happy  sufferer  was  the  Rev.  Jacob  Beecher, 
afterwards  of  Winchester,  Ya.  Every  pastor 
sees  cases  of  this  kind.  Every  evangelical 
church  furnishes  them.  If  God  so  blesses  us 
in  sickness,  we  need  not  dread  its  sharpest 
pangs.  They  prepare  us  for  sweet  mercies. 
Even  if  we  have  no  transports,  we  may  yet 
have  quietness.     Though  we  may  not  exult, 


496  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

we  may  endure.  God  may  appoint  to  us 
wearisome  nights  and  days  of  vanity,  scaring 
us  in  visions,  or  holding  our  eyes  waking.  Our 
bed  may  not  comfort  us,  nor  our  couch  ease 
our  complaints.  For  a  time  God  may  hide 
his  face  from  us,  or  our  consolations  may  be 
small.  Yet  it  is  a  great  attainment  to  lie  pas- 
sive in  God's  hands,  and  know  no  will  but  his. 
Some  are  impatient  respecting  the  future. 
Their  faith  is  perhaps  weak,  their  nerves  are 
not  strong,  their  circumstances  not  easy,  and 
they  have  great  disquiet.  Indeed  most  men 
have  alternate  hopes  and  fears  concerning 
coming  days.  It  would  greatly  tend  to  check 
such  thoughts  if  we  would  remembei'  that  the 
future,  which  we  so  much  dread,  may  never' 
come  to  us.  There  is  nothing  more  certain 
than  death,  and  nothing  more  uncertain  than 
the  time  when  death  may  overtake  us.  The 
human  mind  easily  grows  weary  when  prying 
into  the  future.  A  wise  man  can  do  nothing 
better  than  look  up  to  God,  and  say,  My  times 
are  with  tliee.  I  cannot  see  far;  I  am  very 
blind.  But  God  sees  the  end  from  the  begin- 
ning. He  is  wise  and  mighty.  Issues  are 
with  him  ;  duty  is  mine.  If  I  can  do  what  God 
requires,  I  need  not  fear  results.     Times  may 


PATIENCE.  497 

change  ;  revolution  may  swiftly  follow  rev- 
olution; friends  and  scenes  and  seasons  may 
change ;  I  myself  may  undergo  many  changes ; 
but  God,  his  word  and  plans  and  counsels  never 
change.     They  are  all  holy  and  perfect. 

To  do  one's  duty  and  leave  results  with 
God  is  scriptural.  "  Trust  in  the  Lord,  and  do 
good."  "  Offer  the  sacrifices  of  righteousness, 
and  put  your  trust  in  the  Lord."  What  bet- 
ter can  a  man  do  ?  What  else  can  he  do,  un- 
less he  fret  and  sin  ?  A  great  means  of  curing 
impatience  is  a  close  attention  to  present  duties, 
some  of  which  are  always  instant  and  urgent. 
One  of  these  is  the  maintenance  of  a  devout 
spirit.  He  who  has  no  heart  to  pray  and  praise, 
to  read  God's  word,  to  meditate  on  divine 
things,  and  to  try  his  own  ways,  has  not  begun 
to  do  his  duty,  and  lays  himself  open  to  the 
assaults  of  impatience.  Whatever  is  unfriend- 
ly to  a  spirit  of  devotion  is  dangerous.  We 
all  need  fire,  fire  from  heaven,  to  consume 
our  sacrifices.  The  love  of  Christ  must  be 
shed  abroad  within  us.  If  prayer  were  always 
"  the  key  of  the  day  and  the  lock  of  the  even- 
ing," we  should  have  far  fewer  impatient 
speeches.  The  man  who  finds  God's  words 
and  eats  them,  who  meditates  on  divine  things 


4:98  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

in  the  night-watches,  who  searches  his  heart  as 
with  candles,  who  is  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  all 
the  day  long,  who  praises  the  Lord  seven  times 
a  day,  cannot  be  under  the  sway  of  impatience. 

Let  a  man  also  set  himself  to  the  imitation 
of  Christ,  whose  example  is  perfect  and  lovely ; 
let  him  follow  the  Lamb  whithersoever  he  lead- 
eth;  let  him  walk  in  the  footsteps  of  his  great 
Forerunner ;  let  him  be  careful  to  do  this  with 
exactness  and  alertness,  and  impatience  shall 
not  be  his  master. 

Let  him  delight  in  the  law  of  Grod  after  the 
inward  man,  let  him  esteem  God's  precepts 
concerning  all  things  to  be  right,  let  him  love 
the  law  which  reproves  his  sins,  let  him  take  it 
as  a  rule  for  all  his  thoughts,  words,  and  deeds, 
and  he  will  have  so  much  to  do  that  he  will 
find  impatience  yielding  before  a  hearty  per- 
formance of  duty. 

Let  him  watch  his  own  heart,  let  him  see 
to  it  that  he  be  not  merely  "converted  from 
the  sins  of  men  to  the  sins  of  devils,"  as  from 
drunkenness,  gluttony,  and  lewdness  to  envy, 
malice,  and  spiritual  pride ;  but  let  him  see  to 
it  that  he  is  turned  from  sin  to  holiness,  from 
Satan  unto  God,  and  he  will  by  degrees  gain 
a  sure  victory  over  impatience. 


PATIENCE.  499 

Let  him  die  unto  the  world,  let  him  die 
daily;  let  it  be  his  rule,  "I  will  lend,  but  not 
give  myself  to  worldly  matters  ;'*'  let  him  quit 
the  world  before  it  quits  him;  let  him  learn 
that  it  is  a  cheat  and  a  liar,  not  by  always 
seeking  to  it,  but  by  obeying  the  lessons  of 
past  experience  and  the  teachings  of  God's 
word,  and  his  impatience  concerning  the  future 
will  give  way.  Let  him  learn  to  avoid  the 
habit  of  complaining,  let  him  labor  to  take 
cheerful  views  of  things,  so  far  as  this  can  in 
truth  be  done. 

"  The  wise  in  secret  always  hide  their  pain ; 
And  only  when  redress  is  sure,  complain." 

Or  if  the  sorrow  of  the  mind  be  great,  let  him 
go  chiefly  to  God  with  it.  A  man  may  com- 
plain to  God,  but  let  him  never  complain  0/ God. 
Let  him  never  tire  in  his  Master's  service,  al- 
ways making  Christ's  righteousness  his  right- 
eousness, God's  will  his  will,  God's  Son  his 
bright  and  morning  star;  let  him  consent  to 
be  nothing,  that  God  may  be  all  and  in  all; 
let  him  live  by  faith,  and  walk  by  faith;  let 
him  diligently  run  the  race  that  is  set  before 
him,  and  he  will  find  sinful  impatience  leav- 
ing him  more  and  more,  till  at  last  it  shall  be 
a  vanquished  foe,  and  he  shall  rise  to  dwell 


500  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

with  Grod.     Above  all  things,  look  to  God  him- 
self. 

Perhaps  old  age  has  begun  to  come  upon 
you,  and  you  find  there  comes  with  it  a  certain 
spirit  of  impatience.     It  is  sometimes  said  that 
the  old  are  liable  to  peevishness.     Great  chan- 
ges have  taken  place  in  the  world  since  their 
habits  were  formed.     Such  conduct  is  often 
exhibited  before   them  as   makes   them   feel 
that  others  wish  their  place  or  their  property. 
They  see  but  little  reverence  for  grey  hairs. 
They  have  many  infirmities.     They  are  often 
kept  from  the  house  of  God.     Disappointment 
sometimes  sorely  tries  their  temper.      They 
often  see  mean  advantages  taken  of  their  age 
or  weakness.     Sometimes  they  have  no  means 
of  occupying  their  time.     They  cannot  see  to 
read,  or  they  did  not  form  the  habit  of  read- 
ing when  young,  and  so  cannot  now  enjoy  it. 
Early  in  life  Bishop  Hall  wrote,   "There  is 
nothing  more  odious  than  fruitless  old  age. 
And  as  no  tree  bears  fruit  in  autumn,  unless 
it  blossoms  in  the  spring,  so  that  my  age  may 
be  profitable,  and  laden  with  fruit,  I  will  en- 
deavor that  my  youth  may  be  studious,  and 
flowered  with  the  blossoms  of  learning  and  ob- 
servation.'^     It  is  a  great  thing  for  old  people 


PATIENCE.  501 

to  love  reading.  If  the  Bible  alone  is  their 
companion  and  joy,  they  will  surely  find  "  sol- 
itude sweetened."  It  is  a  great  matter  for 
any,  and  especially  for  the  aged,  to  learn  to 
control  their  tongue  and  temper;  to  be  eco- 
nomical without  stinginess,  liberal  without 
prodigality,  cheerful  without  levity,  humble 
without  meanness,  strict  without  bigotry,  de- 
vout without  fanaticism,  and  obliging  without 
laxity  of  principle.  The  angry  passions  by  all 
men,  especially  by  the  aged,  should  be  kept 
under  strict  control. 

Earnestly  cry  to  God  for  guidance,  sup- 
port, and  comfort  in  old  age.  No  wit,  no  learn- 
ing, no  renown  in  early  life  can  of  themselves 
preserve  one  from  contempt  in  old  age.  Dean 
Swift  was  a  great  student,  scholar,  and  wit; 
in  old  age  he  became  stupid,  helpless,  sense- 
less. He  was  fed  like  a  child,  and  was  actu- 
ally exhibited  by  his  servants  for  reward  as  a 
show  to  visitors.  No  man  ever  made  a  deeper 
impression  on  England  than  the  duke  of  Marl- 
borough. At  court  his  sway  was  above  that 
of  all  but  the  queen.  In  France  his  name  was 
a  solemn  caution  to  men  to  live  peaceably. 
All  Europe  resounded  with  the  fame  of  his 
deeds.     Yet  his  last  days  were  full  of  misery. 


502  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

He  was  an  idiot.  God  alone  and  God  only- 
can  protect  the  aged  from  all  harm.  Look  to 
him.  ''Trust  in  the  Lord,  and  do  good;  so 
shalt  thou  dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily  thou 
shalt  be  fed.  Delight  thyself  also  in  the  Lord, 
and  he  shall  give  thee  the  desires  of  thy  heart. 
Commit  thy  way  unto  the  Lord ;  trust  also  in 
him,  and  he  shall  bring  it  to  pass ;  and  he  shall 
bring  forth  thy  righteousness  as  the  light,  and 
thy  judgment  as  the  noonday.  Rest  in  the 
Lord,  and  wait  patiently  for  him.''  He  can 
cause  that  the  hoary  head  being  found  in  the 
way  of  righteousness  shall  be  a  crown  of  glory. 
If  you  are  old,  remember  that  as  long  as 
you  live,  one  of  your  most  solemn  duties  is  to 
set  an  example  of  cheerfulness  and  patience; 
that  as  memory  fails,  it  needs  to  be  often  re- 
freshed by  the  perusal  of  God's  word ;  that  as 
your  time  on  earth  is  short,  you  should  be 
careful  that  none  of  it  run  to  waste  ;  that  your 
sufferings  on  earth  will  not  last  long ;  and  that 
God's  promises  to  pious  old  age  are  very  full 
and  gracious.  Listen  to  his  words:  ''Thine 
age  shall  be  clearer  than  the  noon-day :  thou 
shalt  shine  forth;  thou  shalt  be  as  the  morn- 
ing." Job  11:17.  "They  shall  still  bring 
forth  fruit  in  old  age;  they  shall  be  fat  and 


PATIENCE.  503 

flourishing;  to  show  that  the  Lord  is  upright: 
he  is  my  rock,  and  there  is  no  unrighteous- 
ness in  him."  Psa.  92:14.  Again  he  says, 
''Even  to  your  old  age  I  am  he,  and  even  to 
hoar  hairs  will  I  carry  you :  I  have  made,  and 
I  will  hear ;  even  I  will  carry,  and  will  deliver 
you."  Isa.  46:4.  Surely  with  such  promises 
we  may  safely  trust  an  unseen  God  even  in  the 
midst  of  the  trials  and  weaknesses  of  age.  How 
memorable  that  saying  of  an  eminent  servant 
of  God,  "I  have  had  six  children,  and  I  bless 
God  that  they  are  either  with  Christ  or  in 
Christ,  and  my  mind  is  at  rest  concerning 
them.  My  desire  was  that  they  should  have 
served  Christ  on  earth ;  but  if  God  will  rather 
choose  to  have  them  serve  him  in  heaven,  / 
have  nothing  to  ohjed  to  it.'''' 

Are  you  a  teacher  of  the  young  ?  Are  you 
endeavoring  to  form  the  minds  of  others  to  vir- 
tue and  knowledge  ?  Be  patient.  Rule  your 
own  spirit;  teach  the  same  lesson  over  and 
over  again;  upbraid  not  others  for  their  dul- 
ness.     Persevere.     Be  pleasant. 

Are  you  laboring  for  the  conversion  of  oth- 
ers, and  do  they  seem  very  dull  and  obstinate? 
Be  patient  with  them.  As  long  as  God  spares 
them  there  is  hope.     Who  can  tell  but  the 


504  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Lord  will  be  gracious  in  the  last  extremity? 
Hope  and  plead  with  them.  Hope  and  pray 
to  God.  Never  cease  your  endeavors  till  life 
is  extinct.  ^ 

Are  you  slandered?  Be  not  revengeful. 
Jesus  Christ  was  more  reviled  and  misrepre- 
sented than  you  have  ever  been.  Make  him 
your  pattern.  It  is  better  to  be  slandered 
than  to  be  a  slanderer.  It  will  do  you  more 
harm  to  lose  your  self-control  and  fall  into  sin, 
than  to  have  all  manner  of  evil  spoken  against 
you  falsely. 

Are  you  poor  ?  Jesus  Christ  was  more  so. 
Be  patient  under  trials.  Christ  passed  through 
those  that  are  worse.  If  men  despise  you  for 
your  poverty,  it  may  drive  you  to  the  mercy- 
seat  ;  and  will  not  that  be  good  for  you  ? 

Have  you  bodily  pain?  Learn  to  distin- 
guish between  those  efiTects  which  show  sinful 
impatience  and  those  which  are  purely  phys- 
ical. A  man  may  indulge  very  sinful  impa- 
tience towards  God,  and  yet  not  utter  a  sigh 
or  a  groan.  Another  may  be  in  a  state  of 
mind  highly  pleasing  to  God,  and  yet  every 
breath  may  be  a  groan  or  a  sigh.  It  is  not 
sinful  for  men  to  give  natural  expression  to 
their  sense  of  pain. 


PATIENCE,  505 

The  motives  which  may  properly  be  urged 
upon  us  to  exercise  patience  are  many  and 
strong. 

1.  The  impatient  man  is  unhappy,  and 
nothing  can  hinder  his  being  so  but  a  change 
of  temper.  He  doubles  all  his  sorrows.  Those 
around  him  are  apt  to  imitate  him,  and  their 
impatience  reacts  on  him.  In  prosperity  and 
adversity,  he  is  alike  destitute  of  solid  peace 
of  mind. 

2.  The  impatient  brings  on  himself  every 
sort  of  evil,  and  especially  great  guilt  in  the 
sight  of  Grod.  ''  He  that  hath  no  rule  over  his 
own  spirit  is  like  a  city  that  is  broken  down 
and  without  walls."  Prov.  25:28.  That  is, 
he  lies  open  to  the  invasion  of  all  evils;  he 
is  protected  against  none  of  them.  In  a  thou- 
sand respects,  ''the  patient  in  spirit  is  better 
than  the  proud  in  spirit.''     Eccl.  7:8. 

3.  However  sharp  our  pains  and  great  our 
sufferings  may  be,  they  will  not  last  always. 
The  apostle  says,  "Be  ye  also  patient;  estab- 
lish your  hearts:  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord 
draweth  nigh." 

4.  Patience  is  one  link  in  the  golden  chain 
which  holds  us  safe  on  earth  in  the  midst  of 
enemies  and  perils.     Nor  is  there  a  brighter 

Vital  Godliness.  22 


506  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

link  in  that  chain.  Paul  says,  "We  glory  in 
tribulations  also,  knowing  that  tribulation 
worketh  patience;  and  patience,  experience; 
and  experience,  hope;  and  hope  maketh  not 
ashamed;  because  the  love  of  God  is  shed 
abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  which 
is  given  unto  us."  Rom.  5 :  3-5.  James  also 
says,  "The  trying  of  your  faith  worketh 
patience.  But  let  patience  have  her  perfect 
work,  that  ye  may  be  perfect  and  entire,  want- 
ing nothing."  Chap.  1  :  3,  4.  It  was  a  noble 
exclamation  in  Fenelon  when  his  library  was 
on  fire,  "God  be  praised  that  it  is  not  the 
dwelling  of  some  poor  man." 

5.  God  has  mercifully  condescended  to  in- 
struct us  on  this  whole  subject  by  divine  exam- 
ple. To  his  enemies  how  amazingly  patient  is 
God.  How  he  bears  with  sinners,  and  forbears 
to  punish  them.  Indeed,  ungodly  men  in  all 
ages  have  hardened  themselves  in  sin  because 
God  was  so  good.  They  have  long  and  blas- 
phemously cried,  "  Where  is  the  promise  of  his 
coming?  for  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all 
things  continue  as  they  were."  How  long  did 
the  patience  of  God  wait  in  the  days  of  Noah. 
How  many  thousands  of  offences,  even  open 
and  daring  sins,  do  multitudes  commit,  and  yet 


PATIENCE.  507 

God  spares  them,  giving  tliem  time  for  repent- 
ance. Even  the  worst  criminals  are  commonly 
permitted  to  live  long  enough  to  repent,  if  they 
have  a  heart  to  do  so.  Shall  God  show  pa- 
tience under  such  fearful  provocations,  and 
shall  w^e  be  impatient  under  any  wrongs  com- 
mitted against  us?  Oh  let  us  "be  followers,'' 
imitators,  *'of  God,  as  dear  children." 

6.  Especially  has  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
left  us  an  illustrious  example  of  forbearance, 
meekness,  and  patience:  ''He  was  brought  as 
a  lamb  to  the  slaughter ;  and  as  a  sheep  before 
her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  opened  not  his 
mouth."  His  forbearance  towards  his  enemies 
when  on  earth  was  amazing.  Legions  of  angels 
would  have  fought  his  battles  with  men,  if  he 
had  bid  them  do  so.  But  his  hands  and  his 
heart  were  both  full  of  blessings,  not  curses. 
He  bore  all,  he  endured  all,  he  murmured  not, 
he  fretted  not,  he  said  no  hard  things,  he  felt 
no  unkindness,  he  was  all  gentleness  and  love. 
In  all  this  he  left  us  an  example,  that  we  should 
follow  his  steps.  "If  we  suffer  with  him,  we 
shall  also  reign  with  him." 

7.  "Finally,  be  ye  all  of  one  mind,  having 
compassion  one  of  another ;  love  as  brethren, 
be  pitiful,  be  courteous :  not  rendering  evil  for 


508  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

evil,  or  railing  for  railing;  but  contrariwise 
blessing ;  knowing  that  ye  are  thereunto  called, 
that  ye  should  inherit  a  blessing.  For  he  that 
will  love  life,  and  see  good  days,  let  him  refrain 
his  tongue  from  evil,  and  his  lips  that  they 
speak  no  guile:  let  him  eschew  evil,  and  do 
good ;  let  him  seek  peace,  and  ensue  it.  For 
the  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  over  the  righteous, 
and  his  ears  are  open  unto  their  prayers :  but 
the  face  of  the  Lord  is  against  them  that  do 
evil.  And  who  is  he  that  will  harm  you,  if  ye 
be  followers  of  that  which  is  good  ?  But  and 
if  ye  suffer  for  righteousness'  sake,  happy  are 
ye:  and  be  not  afraid  of  their  terror,  neither 
be  troubled."  1  Pet.  3  : 8-14.  "If  when  ye  do 
well,  and  suffer  for  it,  ye  take  it  patiently,  this  is 
acceptable  with  God."  IPet.  2:20.  "Foritis 
better,  if  the  will  of  God  be  so,  that  ye  suffer  for 
well-doing  than  for  evil-doing."  1  Pet.  3  :  17. 
Every  wise  man  has  found  trial  good  for  him. 
Lord  Campbell,  Chief-justice  of  England, 
says,  "Little  do  we  know  what  is  for  our  per- 
manent good.  Had  Bunyan  been  discharged, 
and  allowed  to  enjoy  his  libert}^,  he  no  doubt 
would  have  returned,  filling  up  his  intervals  of 
leisure  with  field  preaching;  his  name  would 
not  have  survived  his  own  generation,  and  he 


PATIENCE.  509 

would  have  done  little  for  the  religious  im- 
provement of  mankind.  The  prison  doors  were 
shut  upon  him  for  twelve  years.  Being  cut  oft 
from  the  external  world,  he  communed  with 
his  own  soul,  and  inspired  by  Him  who  touch- 
ed Isaiah's  hallowed  lips  with  fire,  he  composed 
the  noblest  allegory,  the  merit  of  which  was 
first  discovered  by  the  lowly,  but  which  is  now 
lauded  by  the  most  refined  critics ;  and  which 
has  done  more  to  awaken  piety  and  to  enforce 
the  precepts  of  Christian  morality,  than  all  the 
sermons  that  have  been  published  by  all  the 
prelates  of  the  Anglican  church.'"' 

In  God's  plan,  to  descend  is  first;  to  as- 
cend comes  afterwards.  We  must  sink  that 
we  may  rise.  Good  old  Berridge  says,  "Afflic- 
tions, desertions,  and  temptations  are  as  need- 
ful as  consolations.  Jonah's  whale  will  teach 
a  good  lesson  as  well  as  Pisgah's  top ;  and  a 
man  may  sometimes  learn  as  much  from  being 
a  night  or  a  day  in  the  deep,  as  from  being 
forty  days  in  the  mount.  I  see  Jonah  come 
out  of  a  whale  cured  of  rebellion.  I  see  Mo- 
ses go  up  into  the  mount  with  meekness,  and 
come  down  in  a  huff  and  break  the  tables. 
Further,  I  see  three  picked  disciples  attending 
their  Master  into  the  mount,  and  falling  asleep 


610  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

there.  It  is  well  for  you  to  be  clothed  in  sack- 
cloth while  you  tarry  in  the  wilderness.  Look 
upward,  and  press  forward.  Heaven's  eternal 
hills  are  before  you,  and  Jesus  stands  with 
arms  wide  open  to  receive  you.  One  hour's 
sight  and  enjoyment  of  the  Bridegroom  in  his 
palace  above  will  make  you  forget  all  your 
troubles  on  the  way." 

Three  remarks  are  offered  in  conclusion : 
1.  We  see  the  unspeakable  value  of  relig- 
ious truth.  It  is  a  stay  and  a  joy  when  all 
comforts  and  resources  of  earth  fail.  Even 
wicked  men  have  often  confessed  its  power. 
Before  his  own  mind  was  influenced  by  relig- 
ious hopes  or  principles,  Richard  Cecil  made 
the  following  observations : 

"I  see  two  unquestionable  facts.  1.  My 
mother  is  greatly  afflicted  in  circumstances, 
body,  and  mind,  and  yet  she  cheerfully  bears 
up  under  all  by  the  support  she  derives  from 
constantly  retiring  to  her  closet  and  to  her 
Bible.  2.  My  mother  has  a  secret  spring  of 
comfort  of  which  I  know  nothing ;  while  I,  who 
give  an  unbounded  loose  to  my  appetites,  and 
seek  pleasure  by  every  means,  seldom  or  never 
fnid  it.  If,  however,  there  is  any  such  secret 
iu  religion,  why  may  I  not  attain  to  it  as  well 


PATIENCE.  511 

as  my  mother?  I  will  immediately  seek  it 
from  Grod." 

Indeed,  so  cold,  so  barren  is  infidelity,  so 
destitute  of  consolatory  power,  that  many  have 
borne  a  testimony  like  that  of  Cecil,  and  these 
not  merely  the  weak,  but  also  the  strong.  The 
prince  among  German  historians  was  Niebuhr. 
He  was  not  merely  a  great  sceptic,  he  was  an 
infidel.  He  was  a  rationalist,  and  received 
nothing  as  true  in  revelation  except  what  he 
chose.  This  man  had  a  son,  whose  happiness 
lay  near  his  heart.  Did  he  wish  him  to  be 
educated  an  infidel?  Had  he  found  his  own 
system  full  of  consolation  ?  No.  He  says  that 
he  intends  his  boy  ^ '  shall  believe  in  the  letter 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  /  shall 
nurture  in  him  from  his  infancy  a  firm  faith  in 
all  that  J  have  lost  or  feel  uncertain  about.'* 

2.  Of  course  it  is  very  important  to  study 
God's  word.  Would  that  we  had  once  more 
a  race  of  great  Bible  readers.  There  have 
been  such,  and  they  have  been  fat  and  flour- 
ishing. Jerome  seems  to  have  had  the  whole 
Scripture  stored  in  his  memory.  Erasmus 
says  of  him,  "Who  ever  learned  by  heart  the 
whole  Scriptures,  or  imbibed  or  meditated  on 
them  as  he  did  ?" 


512  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

After  his  conversion,  Tertullian  was  occu- 
pied clay  and  night  in  reading  God's  word. 
He  committed  much  of  it  to  memory. 

That  great  divine  Witsius  was  able  without 
a  concordance  to  recite  almost  any  passage  of 
Scripture  in  the  original  words,  and  tell  the 
book,  chapter,  and  verse. 

A  few  years  since  I  had  an  acquaintance 
on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  court  of  his  own 
state,  who  quoted  Scripture  with  readiness  and 
accuracy,  which  showed  that  the  word  of  God 
dwelt  in  him  richly.  In  fact,  eminent  Chris- 
tians the  world  over  are  characterized  by  con- 
stant and  profound  meditation  on  God's  word. 
Oh  that  men  would  be  persuaded  to  make 
God's  testimonies  their  constant  delight !  Locke 
says,  "If  any  man  will  obtain  a  true  knowledge 
of  the  Christian  religion,  let  him  study  J:he  holy 
Scriptures,  especially  in  the  New  Testament. 
Therein  are  contained  the  words  of  eternal  life. 
It  has  God  for  its  author,  salvation  for  its  end, 
and  truth,  without  any  mixture  of  error,  for  its 
matter." 

3.  Let  us  follow  Christ.  Let  us  be  content 
to  live  and  suffer  with  him.  Eobertson  of  Dub- 
lin says,  ''We  hear  in  these  days  a  great  deal 
respecting  rights — the  rights  of  private  judg- 


PATIENCE.  513 

ment,  the  rights  of  labor,  the  rights  of  prop- 
erty, and  the  rights  of  man.  Rights  are  grand 
things,  divine  things  in  this  world  of  God's ; 
but  the  way  in  which  we  expound  those  rights, 
alas,  seems  to  me  to  be  the  very  incarnation  of 
selfishness.  I  can  see  nothing  noble  in  a  man 
who  is  for  ever  going  about  calling  for  his  own 
rights.  Alas,  alas  for  the  man  who  feels  noth- 
ing more  grand  in  this  wondrous,  divine  world 
than  his  own  rights.  Two  thousand  years  ago, 
there  was  One  here  on  this  earth  who  lived  the 
grandest  life  that  ever  has  been  lived  yet — a 
life  that  every  thinking  man,  with  deeper  or 
shallower  meaning,  has  agreed  to  call  divine. 
I  read  little  respecting  his  rights,  or  of  his 
claims  of  rights ;  but  I  have  read  a  great  deal 
respecting  his  duties.  Every  act  he  did  he 
called  a  duty.  I  read  a  very  little  in  that  life 
respecting  his  rights ;  but  I  hear  a  vast  deal 
respecting  his  wrongs — wrongs  infinite — wrongs 
borne  with  a  majestic,  godlike  silence.  His 
reward?  His  reward  was  the  reward  that 
God  gives  to  all  his  true  and  noble  ones — to 
be  cast  out  in  his  day  and  generation,  and  a 
life  conferring  death  at  last — those  were  his 
rights !" 


22* 


5U  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

CHAPTER  XXIU. 

JOY. 

Jot  is  delight  at  something  esteemed  good 
in  possession  or  in  prospect.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  powerful  affections  of  the  mind,  and  un- 
der the  various  names  of  satisfaction,  cheerful- 
ness, gladness,  mirth,  triumph,  exultation,  and 
glorying,  enters  in  various  degrees  into  the 
experience  of  mankind.  Accordingly  there 
are  different  words  in  the  original  Scriptures, 
as  in  our  English  text,  signifying  different  de- 
grees of  joy. 

The  Scriptures  draw  a  wide  distinction  be- 
tween lawful  and  unlawful  joy.  This  should 
always  be  maintained.  The  hypocrite,  no  less 
than  the  true  servant  of  God — the  stony-ground 
hearers,  no  less  than  those  who  received  the 
word  into  good  and  honest  hearts,  had  joy. 
This  was  very  different  in  the  two  classes,  but 
real  in  both.  Unlawful  joys  are  such  as  are 
not  warranted  by  God's  word  or  providence ; 
such  as  spring  from  a  thing  of  naught ;  such  as 
have  their  basis  in  our  wicked  feelings  ;  or 
such  as  have  some  iniquity  as  their  exciting 


JOY.  515 

cause.  They  always  prove  men  depraved,  and 
always  make  men  worse. 

Lawful  joys  are  of  various  kinds,  some  of 
which  are  common  to  mankind  in  all  ages, 
such  as  the  joy  of  mothers  in  beholding  their 
smiling  infants,  the  joy  of  the  husbandman  in 
harvest  time,  the  joy  of  full  health  and  vigor, 
inclining  us  to  leap  and  run.  There  are  also 
lawful  joys  in  the  exercise  of  our  intellects,  in 
solving  difficulties,  in  achieving  mental  tri- 
umphs, in  finding  out  hidden  causes  and  dark 
sayings.  True  friendship  has  its  joys.  The 
soul,  enlightened,  comforted,  transported  by 
the  power  of  God's  Spirit,  has  great  joy.  It 
cannot  be  otherwise.  The  joy  which  we  have 
in  things  temporal  is  inferior  to  that  in  things 
eternal.  Things  of  sense  cannot  give  such  de- 
light as  the  things  of  religion.  It  would  be  a 
calamity  if  any  thing  on  earth  was  equal  to  the 
joys  above. 

One  of  the  oldest  and  most  mischievous 
slanders  against  religion  is  that  it  is  unfriendly 
to  enjoyment.  Some  admit  that  it  makes  am- 
ple provision  for  future  blessedness,  but  con- 
tend that  in  this  life  it  makes  no  proper  return 
for  the  pleasures  from  which  it  cuts  us  off. 
This  objection  assumes  many  shapes,  and  is 


516  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

urged  with  various  degrees  of  zeal  and  subt- 
lety. More  men  feel  its  power  than  are  ready 
to  confess  it.  Particular  answers  may  prop- 
erly be  given  to  particular  forms  of  it.  But 
some  general  remarks  meet  the  objection  in  its 
leading  principles. 

1.  Suppose  it  were  a  fact  that  God's  peo- 
ple lose  all  joy  on  earth,  and  in  this  life  have 
only  sorrow  and  mortification,  but  a  sure  hope 
of  being  eternally  saved ;  who  is  wise,  the  man 
that  weeps  for  a  day  and  rejoices  for  ever,  or 
the  man  who  is  merry  for  a  day  and  mourns 
for  ever  ?  No  wise  man  doubts  what  answer 
should  be  given  to  that  interrogatory.  It  is 
better  to  endure  even  a  great  evil  for  a  moment 
than  to  have  a  comparatively  small  evil  inflict- 
ed for  a  long  time.  It  is  agreeable  to  reason 
that  great  enjoyments  are  not  to  be  sought  if 
they  will  be  followed  by  long-continued  evils. 
To  burn  down  a  house  to  avoid  the  chilliness 
of  a  night,  to  take  a  powerful  narcotic  to  re- 
lieve a  slight  pain,  cannot  be  justified  at  the 
bar  of  reason.  Can  any  temporal  evil  compare 
with  everlasting  sorrow?  Can  any  earthly 
good  compare  with  an  eternity  of  bliss?  What 
is  an  hour  of  joy  to  ages  of  woe  ?  What  is  a 
day  of  weeping  to  ages  of  bliss  ?   Even  if  in  this 


JOY.  517 

life  piety  gave  nothing  in  lieu  of  what  it  takes 
away,  and  yet  secured  eternal  life,  it  would  be 
the  height  of  wisdom  to  fear  God  and  keep  his 
commandments. 

2.  It  is  a  suspicious  circumstance  that  this 
objection  is  never  made  by  the  people  of  God, 
but  only  by  those  who  know  not  whereof  they 
affirm.  No  enemy  of  God  has  any  experience 
by  which  he  could  possibly  be  qualified  to 
judge  whether  the  exercises  of  piety  are  con- 
ducive to  enjoyment.  What  does  an  uncon- 
verted man  know  of  faith,  penitence,  hope, 
peace,  or  the  comfort  of  love  ?  No  more  than 
a  blind  man  knows  of  the  colors  of  a  rainbow; 
no  more  than  the  dead  man  knows  of  the  joy- 
ousness  of  life.  The  unrelenting  sinner  knows 
nothing  of  the  beauties  of  holiness,  nothing  of 
joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  nothing  of  the  attrac- 
tions of  Christ.  To  all  such  our  Saviour  is  as 
a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground.  To  them  his  name 
has  no  music,  nor  is  it  as  ointment  poured 
forth.  They  are  in  darkness.  They  are  blind. 
To  those  who  cannot  see,  one  painting  has  as 
few  attractions  as  another.  What  do  the  deaf 
know  of  harmony  ?  To  them  thunder  and  the 
flute,  the  roar  of  the  lion  and  the  song  of  the 
nightingale  are  the  same. 


518  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Here  is  a  miser.  His  joy  is  in  heaping  up 
gold,  counting  it  over,  increasing  it,  and  be- 
holding it  with  his  eyes.  A  very  sordid  joy 
this  is,  but  still  it  is  a  joy.  Next  neighbor  to 
him  lives  the  man  who  loves  to  feed  the  hun- 
gry, clothe  the  naked,  bless  his  race,  and  make 
the  widow's  heart  to  sing  for  joy.  See  his 
eagerness  and  alacrity  in  doing  good.  His 
face  beams  with  pleasure  as  he  makes  others 
glad.  His  dreams  are  of  deeds  of  mercy.  He 
rests  not  well  unless  he  has  done  his  best  to 
make  men  happy,  wise,  and  good.  Then  he 
sleeps  as  if  he  had  nothing  else  to  do.  Is  that 
miser  a  fit  man  to  sit  in  judgment  on  this  phi- 
lanthropist? Can  he  weigh  his  deeds  in  the 
scale  of  sober  truth,  and  tell  the  sum  of  all  the 
joys  that  spring  from  a  life  of  love?  No  more 
can  a  sinner  tell  what  joys  a  saint  may  have. 

3.  This  is  the  more  certain  as  the  joys  of 
salvation  consist  of  things  invisible  to  the  eye 
and  unappreciable  by  any  natural  man.  "The 
secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him, 
and  he  will  show  them  his  covenant."  Com- 
munion with  God  is  wholly  secret.  Even  one 
Christian  knows  not  except  on  testimony  when 
the  richest  blessings  descend  upon  his  brother. 
The  child  of  God  says, 


JOY.  519 

In  secret  silence  of  the  mind, 

My  heaven,  and  there  my  God  I  find. 

Not  SO  the  wicked.  When  they  have  mucli 
joy,  they  kindle  bonfires,  they  fire  cannon, 
they  get  up  processions,  and  march  about  with 
music.  They  mingle  in  the  dance  with  the 
sound  of  the  viol.  How  can  he  whose  mirth 
finds  scope  in  noise  and  revelry,  be  a  judge  of 
him  whose  joys  make  him  love  his  closet  and 
lead  him  to  ''be  still?"  Will  mankind  never 
learn  the  truth  that  true  religion  exposes  not 
all  to  the  gaze  of  uncircumcised  men?  Cecil 
says,  "  The  joy  of  religion  is  an  exorcist  to  the 
mind;  it  expels  the  demons  of  carnal  mirth 
and  madness.'^  All  Christians  may  adopt  the 
language  of  one  of  the  ancients:  "We  change, 
but  do  not  lose  real  delights.''  Carnal  men  can 
never  understand  that  saying  of  Augustine, 
''How  sweet  it  is  to  want  your  sinful  sweets." 

4.  Moreover  the  joys  of  God's  people  are 
sober  things.  Even  Seneca  said,  ''  True  joy  is 
a  serene  and  sober  motion;  and  they  are  mis- 
erably out  that  take  laughing  for  rejoicing." 
All  our  best  joys  are  somewhat  sober.  The 
purer  and  greater  they  are,  the  more  will  they 
partake  of  seriousness.  The  husbandman  who 
sees  his  abundant  harvests  secured  j  the  mer- 


520  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

chant  whose  risks  in  honorable  trade  have 
returned  him  many  fold  ;  the  father  whose 
child  surpasses  all  his  fond  expectations ;  the 
teacher  whose  pupil  is  winning  golden  opin- 
ions from  his  generation — all  have  joys,  but 
they  are  not  to  be  expressed  by  laughter. 
Never  does  a  noble  father  feel  less  like  noisy 
merriment  than  when  for  the  first  time  he  hears 
the  strains  of  a  commanding  eloquence  poured 
forth  from  the  lips  of  his  darling  son.  So  the 
joys  of  the  saints  are  sober  things.  They  are 
more  :  they  are  solemn  ;  they  are  the  joys 
of  the  Lord.  They  spring  from  forgiveness  of 
sins,  from  peace  with  God,  from  glorious  views 
of  the  great  and  dreadful  God,  from  fellowship 
with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  through  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

5.  In  true  and  great  joy  there  is  a  calm- 
ness and  stillness  which  men  of  the  world  do 
not  understand.  A  little  drop  of  joy  in  a  hu- 
man mind  will  agitate  it.  But  when  the  ful- 
ness of  divine  comforts  is  poured  upon  the 
heart,  it  is  quiet.  It  sits,  admires,  adores, 
walks  softly,  and  is  afraid  of  losing  its  hold  on 
God.  Reverence  abounds  in  proportion  to  its 
joys.  If  a  little  joy  makes  one  giddy,  much 
will  make  him  quiet  j  it  may  even  overwhelm 


JOY.  521 

him.     For  joy  the  disciples  at  first  believed 
not  the  resurrection  of  Christ. 

6.  Besides,  the  joy  of  a  wicked  man  is 
either  in  sin  or  in  God's  changing  creatures. 
But  the  joy  of  the  pious  is  chiefly  in  things  the 
most  pure,  permanent,  and  powerful.  So  that 
they ''rejoice  evermore;"  they  even  "rejoice 
in  tribulation.''  If  they  have  beyond  most  a 
keen  sense  and  a  sad  experience  of  the  ills  of 
life,  they  have  also  a  sovereign  antidote.  To 
them,  as  to  others,  affliction  is  not  joyous,  but 
grievous ;  nevertheless  Grod  reigns,  Jesus  lives, 
the  covenant  is  ordered  in  all  things  and  sure, 
and  floods  break  forth  to  them  in  a  dry  and 
thirsty  land  where  no  water  is,  and  thus  they 
are  made  glad.  It  was  not  the  unwashed 
stripes,  nor  the  stocks,  nor  the  innermost  jDris- 
on,  nor  midnight  darkness,  nor  the  gratuitous 
cruelty  of  the  Philippian  jailer,  that  made  Paul 
and  Silas  sing  praises  unto  God.  These  were 
all  evils,  and  some  of  them  very  great  griev- 
ances, but  they  could  not  drown  the  joys  these 
holy  men  had  in  God  through  the  hope  of 
glory,  and  by  the  power  of  the  eternal  Spirit. 
When  the  Sun  of  righteousness  arises  in  the 
soul  with  healing  in  his  wings,  midnight  be- 
comes noon,  prisons  are  transformed  into  pal- 


522  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

aces,  and  rills  of  sorrow  are  transmuted  into 
rivers  of  delight.  Did  the  martyrs  die  like 
abjects  ?  Do  real  Christians  weep  and  howl 
like  the  wicked  when  in  trouble  ? 

7.  Add  to  this  that  all  of  us,  even  wicked 
men,  have  seen  cases  where  joy  expressed  it- 
self by  tears.  It  is  often  so  when  one  returns 
home  after  long  absence  or  great  perils.  It  is 
often  so  when  enmities  are  buried,  and  a  rec- 
onciliation is  effected  between  old  friends  who 
had  been  sundered  by  strife  and  feuds.  Why 
should  it  not  be  so  when  reconciliation  with 
God  through  Jesus  Christ  is  effected  ?  Those 
tears  of  penitence  which  are  shed  by  the  child 
of  G-od  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  are  so  sweet 
that  he  would  fain  weep  them  always.  His 
gratitude  often  melts  him  down.  Is  thankful- 
ness in  its  highest  exercises  painful  to  the  vir- 
tuous mind  ?  God's  people  may  weep  much 
without  proving  them  unhappy. 

8.  It  is  also  true  that  the  pious  often  weep 
over  the  wicked  who  are  deriding  them  as  mis- 
erable. They  mourn  to  see  men  rushing  head- 
long to  ruin.  For  twenty  years  that  pious, 
delicate,  refined  lady  has  wept  for  the  sins 
and  follies  of  her  son,  father,  or  husband. 
Tears  have  been  her  meat  day  and  night,  while 


JOY.  523 

he  for  whom  they  are  shed  seems  more  than 
ever  bent  on  wickedness.  She  knows  that  un- 
less he  is  speedily  and  thoroughly  changed, 
she  must  soon  bid  hini  an  eternal  farewell.  In 
God  she  is  happy  j  by  grace  she  is  upheld. 
But  rivers  of  water  run  down  her  eyes  as  she 
sees  him  sell  himself  to  do  evil.  Long  has  she 
hoped  for  a  change  in  his  character ;  but  hope 
deferred  makes  her  heart  sick.  Her  spirit 
almost  dies  within  her.  She  weeps  in  secret 
places.  He  surprises  her  in  tears,  and  charges 
all  her  sadness  to  religion.  His  vileness  and 
impenitence  are  the  cause  of  the  sorrows  he 
sees.  Were  all  men  seeking  the  Lord  and 
walking  in  his  ways,  the  righteous  would  not 
have  half  the  griefs  that  now  afflict  them.  Is 
it  fair,  is  it  just,  by  our  wickedness  to  cover 
with  sadness  our  best  friends,  and  then  to  ac- 
cuse their  piety  as  the  cause  of  their  sadness  ? 
9.  God's  people  have  also  cause  of  grief  in 
their  own  hearts.  They  are  but  partially  sanc- 
tified. They  have  a  world  of  trouble,  not  with 
their  personal  holiness,  but  with  their  want  of 
more  entire  conformity  to  God.  It  is  not  the 
new  man,  but  the  old  man ;  not  the  image  of 
Christ,  but  the  body  of  death  that  casts  them 
down. 


524  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

10.  Finally,  "out  of  the  mouth  of  two  or 
three  witnesses  shall  every  word  be  estab- 
lished.'^ The  witnesses  in  any  matter  must  be 
both  competent  and  credible.  In  the  matter 
before  us,  God's  people  are  capable  of  giving 
testimony.  They  have  tried  a  life  of  sin,  and 
found  it  vanity.  They  have  tasted  and  seen 
that  the  Lord  is  gracious.  They  know  both 
sides  by  experience.  They  can  tell  the  truth 
if  they  will.  And  they  are  credible  witnesses. 
The  testimony  of  any  two  or  three  of  millions 
of  them  would  bring  any  man  to  prison  or  the 
gallows.  What  do  these  persons  say?  Witli- 
out  a  dissenting  voice  in  any  age  or  country, 
they  declare  that  "the  ways  of  wisdom  are 
ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are 
peace;"  that  they  choose  "to  suffer  affliction 
with  the  people  of  Grod,  rather  than  enjoy  the 
pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season ;"  that  Christ  is  a 
good  Master,  and  his  service  freedom  and  joy. 
They  all  sing,  ' '  Blessed  are  they  that  dwell  in 
thy  house;  they  will  be  still  praising  thee." 
The  Bible  is  full  of  such  testimonies.  God 
would  never  command  his  people  to  "rejoice 
evermore,"  if  they  had  no  cause  for  joy.  Un- 
inspired writers  of  all  classes  of  God's  people 
speak  the  same  language  with  those  who  spoke 


JOY.  525 

as  tliey  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Scrip- 
ture and  Christian  experience  alike  declare, 
'''  True  religion  is  joyful.^' 

Haldane,  on  Eom.  5  :  2,  says,  ''The  Chris- 
tian should  speak  nothing  boastingly  so  far  as 
concerns  himself,  but  he  has  no  reason  to  con- 
ceal his  sense  of  his  high  destination  as  a  son 
of  Grod  and  an  heir  of  glory.  In  this  he  ought 
to  exult,  in  this  he  ought  to  glory,  and  in  obe- 
dience to  his  Lord's  command,  to  rejoice  be- 
cause his  name  is  written  in  heaven.  The  hope 
of  eternal  salvation  through  the  grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  cannot  but  produce  joy ;  for 
as  there  can  be  no  true  joy  without  such  a  hope, 
so  it  carries  with  it  the  very  essence  of  joy." 

Matthew  Henry  said,  "You  have  been 
used  to  take  notice  of  the  sayings  of  dying 
men ;  this  is  mine.  That  a  life  spent  in  the  ser- 
vice of  God  and  communion  with  him,  is  the 
most  comfortable  and  pleasant  life  that  any  one 
can  live  in  this  world." 

His  distinguished  sister  Mrs.  Savage,  dy- 
ing, said,  "I  here  leave  the  testimony  of  my 
experience,  that  Christ's  yoke  is  easy,  and  his 
burden  light." 

In  his  commentary  on  the  Galatians,  Luther 
says,  "  Where  Christ  is  truly  seen,  there  must 


626  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

needs  be  full  and  perfect  joy  in  the  Lord,  with 
peace  of  conscience.'' 

Joseph  Alleine  said  to  his  wife,  "I  live  a 
voluptuous  life ;  but  it  is  upon  spiritual  dain- 
ties, such  as  the  world  knows  not  and  tastes 
not  of." 

John  Newton  says,  "I  am  sure  the  real 
Christian,  who  has  peace  with  God  and  in  his 
own  conscience,  has  both  the  best  title  to  joy 
and  the  best  disposition  for  it.'' 

Evans  says,  ''It  is  the  habitual  and  fixed 
judgment  of  every  sincere  Christian's  mind, 
that  Christ  and  his  benefits  are  more  to  be 
rejoiced  in  than  all  worldly  good." 

Dr.  Barrow  says,  "  It  is  a  scandalous  mis- 
prision, vulgarly  admitted,  concerning  religion, 
that  it  is  altogether  sullen  and  sour,  requiring 
a  dull,  lumpish,  morose  kind  of  life,  barring  all 
delight,  all  mirth,  all  good-humor;  whereas, 
on  the  contrary,  it  alone  is  the  never-failing 
source  of  true,  pure,  steady  joy,  such  as  is 
deep-rooted  in  the  heart,  immovably  founded 
in  the  reason  of  things,  permanent  like  the  im- 
mortal spirit  wherein  it  dwelleth  and  like  the 
eternal  objects  whereon  it  is  fixed,  which  is  not 
apt  to  fade  or  cloy,  and  is  not  subject  to  any 
impressions  apt  to  corrupt  or  impair  it." 


JOY.  627 

It  is  a  very  noticeable  fact,  that  true  piety 
promotes  joyfulness  just  in  proportion  as  it  is 
fervent,  constant,  and  full  of  devout  meditation. 
Bishop  Home  having  finished  his  commentary 
on  the  Psalms,  and  calling  to  mind  the  sweet 
thoughts  he  had  had  of  God,  says,  "  And  now, 
could  the  author  flatter  himself  that  any  one 
would  take  half  the  pleasure  in  reading  the  fol- 
lowing exposition  which  he  hath  taken  in  writ- 
ing it,  he  would  not  fear  the  loss  of  his  labor. 
The  employment  detached  him  from  the  bustle 
and  hurry  of  life,  the  din  of  politics,  and  the 
noise  of  folly ;  vanity  and  vexation  flew  away 
for  a  season,  care  and  disquietude  came  not 
near  his  dwelling.    He  arose  fresh  as  the  morn- 
ing to  his  task ;  the  silence  of  the  night  invited 
Mm  to  pursue  it;  and  he  can  truly  say  that 
food  and  rest  were  not  preferred  before  it. 
Every  psalm  improved  infinitely  upon  his  ac- 
quaintance with  it,  and  no  one  gave  him  uneasi- 
ness but  the  last ;  for  then  he  grieved  that  his 
work  was  done.     Happier  hours  than  those 
which  have  been  spent  in  these  meditations  on 
the  songs  of  Zion  he  never  expects  to  see  in  this 
world.     Yery  pleasantly  did  they  pass,  and 
moved  smoothly  and  swiftly  along;  for  when 
thus  engaged,  he  counted  no  time.     They  are 


528  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

gone,  but  have  left  a  relish  and  a  fragrance 
upon  the  mind,  and  the  remembrance  of  them 
is  sweet."  In  his  commentary  on  the  Romans, 
Dr.  Chalmers  quotes  the  above  as  ''an  actual 
specimen  of  heaven  upon  earth  as  enjoyed  for 
a  season  of  devotional  contemplation  on  the 
word  of  God." 

When  such  sentiments  are  rehearsed  in  the 
audience  of  Grod's  people,  they  win  their  hearty 
and  unanimous  approbation.  Are  not  all  these 
witnesses  to  be  believed?  Who  knows  the 
truth,  if  they  do  not?  Why  do  they  thus 
agree,  if  they  speak  not  the  truth  ?  What  mo- 
tive have  they  for  giving  false  testimony  ? 

All  these  views  are  heightened  by  a  just 
comparison  of  the  joys  of  the  wicked  and  of  the 
righteous,  so  far  as  they  are  different.  For  the 
righteous  are  not  cut  off  from  lawful  delights 
even  here ;  and  the  joys  of  all  the  wdcked  are 
strongly  mixed  with  pains.  "Many  sorrows 
shall  be  to  the  wicked,"  says  God.  And  al- 
though for  a  long  time  the  enemies  of  God  may 
seem  joyful,  may  have  great  outward  prosper- 
ity, may  be  very  skilful  in  concealing  their 
wounds,  yet  it  is  still  true  that  "the  wicked" 
have  "many  sorrows." 

Their  consciences  are  ill  at  ease.     This  is 


JOY.  529 

true  of  all  God's  enemies.  •  In  the  checks  and 
clamors  and  forebodings  of  the  monitor  within 
are  found  present  sorrows  and  infallible  tokens 
of  coming  wrath.  A  man  had  better  quarrel 
with  his  generation  than  with  his  conscience 
and  his  God.  The  righteous  have  peace  with 
God,  and  their  consciences  are  purged  from 
dead  works. 

The  wicked  are  sources  of  sorrow  to  each 
other.  There  are  many  aspirants  for  every 
post  of  honor,  many  rivals  for  preeminence  in 
every  profession,  and  many  haughty  despisers 
of  the  unfortunate  and  unsuccessful.  Both  in 
this  life  and  the  next,  the  wicked  often  tor- 
ment each  other.  The  righteous  have  pleasure 
in  each  other. 

No  amount  of  worldly  success  can  ever  sat- 
isfy the  demands  of  wicked  men.  Their  am- 
bition, pride,  covetousness,  revenge,  and  envy 
burn  the  more  vehemently  the  more  they  are 
gratified.  To  indulge  them  is  to  give  them 
new  power.  They  kindle  a  terrific,  torment- 
ing flame  in  every  bosom,  which  is  never  ex- 
tinguished but  by  the  grace  of  God.  ''In  all 
worldly  joys  there  is  a  secret  wound."  But 
sin  has  lost  its  dominion  over  God's  people. 
The  truth  has  made  them  free.     The  Son  of 

Vlt»l  Oodlinea*  23 


530  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

God  has  wrought  their  deliverance.  The  very 
truths  of  religion,  which  gladden  the  hearts  of 
believers,  are  sources  of  sorrow  to  the  wicked. 
It  is  pleasing  to  the  righteous,  but  dismal  to 
the  wicked,  that  this  life  will  soon  be  over. 
It  rejoices  the  humble,  but  afflicts  the  haughty, 
to  know  that  God  resisteth  the  proud  and  will 
surely  abase  them.  The  resurrection  of  the 
dead  and  the  general  judgment,  two  events 
quite  essential  to  the  completeness  of  Christian 
joy,  are  among  the  most  gloomy  of  all  topics 
of  reflection  to  the  wicked.  The  Lord  reigns, 
says  God's  word,  and  the  righteous  shouts  for 
joy ;  while  the  wicked  says,  "  If  that  be  so,  my 
doom  is  sealed,  and  my  damnation  certain.'^ 

The  wicked  are  not  secured,  but  plagued 
by  the  covenant,  promises,  and  perfections  of 
God.  Is  God  almighty  ?  then  he  can  destroy 
them.  Is  he  righteous  ?  then  he  ivill  mark  in- 
iquity. Is  he  kind?  they  have  provoked  his 
displeasure  by  despising  his  mercy.  Is  he 
faithful  and  true  ?  his  threatenings  will  as  cer- 
tainly be  executed  as  his  promises. 

Then  the  wicked  are  against  themselves. 
They  are  self-destroyers.  They  hate  life,  and 
refuse  good.  They  give  their  souls  the  wounds 
they  feel.    They  stand  in  their  own  light.   They 


JOY.  531 

fasten  their  own  chains  upon  themselves.  They 
will /or  ever  do  what  many  of  them  often  do 
here ;  that  is,  curse  their  own  folly. 

And  all  nature  is  against  them.  The  stars 
in  their  courses  fight  against  them.  Yea,  "  the 
stone  shall  cry  out  of  the  wall,  and  the  beam 
out  of  the  timber  shall  answer  it."  The  fowls 
of  the  mountain,  the  beasts  of  the  field,  the 
serpents  in  the  wall,  and  all  the  elements  are 
ready  at  any  moment  to  break  out  against  the 
wicked,  whenever  God  shall  give  them  per- 
mission. 

And  their  best  joys  are  so  short-lived. 
''  As  the  crackling  of  thorns  under  a  pot,  so  is 
the  laughter  of  the  fool.'^  Eccl.  7:6.  ''  The 
time  is  short.  It  remaineth  that  both  they  that 
have  wives  be  as  though  they  had  none,  and 
they  that  rejoice  as  though  they  rejoiced  not.'^ 
1  Cor.  7  :  29,  30.  And  the  end  of  their  joys 
is  sorrow,  and  the  end  of  their  sorrow  is  wail- 
ing and  howling.  So  that  always,  in  all  worlds, 
''  their  vine  is  of  the  vine  of  Sodom  and  of  the 
fields  of  Gomorrah ;  their  grapes  are  grapes  of 
gall,  their  clusters  are  bitter ;  their  wine  is  the 
poison  of  dragons  and  the  cruel  venom  of  asps. 
Is  not  this  laid  up  in  store"  for  them?  The 
joys  of  the  righteous,  on  the  other  hand,  are 


532  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

pure.  They  never  cloy  the  appetite.  They 
are  salutary,  and  do  good  as  a  medicine.  They 
last.  They  outlast  the  sun.  Where  the  joy 
of  the  saints  begins  to  be  absolutely  perfect, 
there  the  joy  of  sinners  ends  for  ever. 

"  See  their  short  course  of  vain  deliglit 
Closing  in  everlasting  night." 

0  the  impenetrable  gloom  of  despair !  0  that 
night  which  will  have  no  morning! 

The  objects  of  Christian  joy  are  clearly  set 
forth  in  Scripture.  The  chief  of  these  is  God 
himself.  So  says  David,  ''I  will  go  unto  the 
altar  of  God,  unto  God  my  exceeding  joy.'' 
Psa.  43 :  3.  Paul  says,  "And  not  only  so,  but 
we  joy  in  God.''  Rom.  5:11.  Again,  ''Re- 
joice in  the  Lord  always;  and  again  I  say, 
rejoice."  Phil.  4:4.  Isaiah  says,  ''I  will 
greatly  rejoice  in  the  Lord ;  my  soul  shall  be 
joyful  in  my  God ;  for  he  hath  clothed  me  with 
the  garments  of  salvation ;  he  hath  covered  me 
with  the  robe  of  righteousness,  as  a  bridegroom 
decketh  himself  with  ornaments,  and  as  a  bride 
adorneth  herself  with  her  jewels."  Isa.  61 :  10. 
In  Psalm  5:11,  we  read,  "Let  all  those  that 
put  their  trust  in  thee  rejoice;  let  them  ever 
shout  for  joy,  because  thou  defendest  them; 
let  them  also  that  love  thy  name  be  joyful  in 


JOY.  533 

thee/'  So  also  in  many  other  places  we  are 
exhorted  and  commanded  to  rejoice  in  the 
Lord.  Above  all,  God  is  fitted  to  be  an  ob- 
ject of  unfailing  joy,  because  he  is  God,  infi- 
nite, eternal,  and  unchangeable  in  all  conceiv- 
able perfections.  The  fulness  that  is  in  him 
meets  all  our  wants.  The  pious  delight  in 
God;  so  that  prayer,  which  would  otherwise 
be  a  task,  and  praise,  which  would  otherwise 
be  a  mockery,  are  refreshing  to  the  soul  as  it 
cries,  ''Abba,  Father, ''  and  "Hallelujah.'^  In 
like  manner  all  the  duties  of  the  Christian  life 
become  pleasant  by  our  joy  in  God.  Our 
Rock  is  perfect.  In  him  is  no  darkness  at  all. 
He  is  an  ocean  of  love,  an  infinitude  of  match- 
less loveliness.  When  he  speaks  peace,  none 
can  give  trouble.  When  he  makes  glad,  none 
can  give  sorrow.  The  mind  of  the  child  of 
God  has  no  more  fears  that  the  resources 
which  are  in  God  will  ever  fail,  than  the  mar- 
iner has  that  the  sea  will  go  dry.  There  is 
none  like  Jehovah,  none  before  him,  none  with 
him,  none  to  be  compared  to  him,  none  besides 
him. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  a  special  object  of 
joy.  "Whom,  having  not  seen,  ye  love;  in 
whom,  though  now  ye  see  him  not,  yet  believ- 


534  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

ing,  ye  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full 
of  glory."  1  Pet.  1:8.  None  like  him  gives 
''the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  and  the  garment 
of  praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness.'^  Isa. 
61  :  3.  This  joy,  of  which  Christ  is  the  object, 
is  founded  upon  his  person,  his  design  in  com- 
ing into  the  world,  the  perfection  of  his  obe- 
dience, the  completeness  of  his  sufferings,  the 
excellence  of  his  doctrine,  the  virtue  of  his 
blood-shedding,  the  spotlessness  and  amplitude 
of  his  righteousness,  the  glory  of  his  interces- 
sion, the  perpetuity  of  his  kingdom,  the  blessed 
provisions  of  the  covenant  of  which  he  is  the 
surety,  the  justification,  adoption,  sanctifica- 
tion,  peace  with  Grod,  access  to  the  mercy-seat, 
communion  with  the  Father,  growth  in  grace, 
and  final  victory  accomplished  through  our 
blessed  Saviour.  Truly  ''this  is  life  eternal, 
to  know  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  he  has 
sent."  "  Christ  was  set  for  a  light  to  the  Gen- 
tiles, that  he  should  be  for  salvation  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth."  Acts  13 :  47.  Would  you 
avail  yourself  of  all  the  fulness  and  fatness 
that  are  here?  "Consider  the  apostle  and 
high-priest  of  your  profession,  Christ  Jesus." 
Set  your  faith  steadfastly  in  him.  Say  with 
Peter,  "We  believe  and  are  sure  that  thou  art 


JOY.  536 

that  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  John 
6  :  69.  Your  joy  in  Christ  will  ever  be  pro- 
portioned to  your  faith  in  him.  Christ  is 
never  truly  revealed  to  the  soul  of  a  believer, 
but  he  is  made  more  or  less  joyful  in  him.  It 
is  so  in  the  first  dawn  of  a  good  hope ;  it  is  so 
in  fuller  manifestations  of  his  glory ;  it  is  so  in 
the  day  when  Christ  leads  the  soul  into  his 
banqueting-house,  and  his  banner  over  it  is 
love.  Then  its  language  is,  "Stay  me  with 
flagons,  comfort  me  with  apples ;  for  I  am  sick 
of  love." 

In  like  manner  the  third  person  of  the  God- 
head is  an  object  of  joy.  So  Paul  declares 
that  "the  kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink, 
but  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost."  Eom.  14 :  17.  Joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost  may  chiefly  signify  joy  by  the  power 
and  grace  of  the  Spirit.  But  even  then  this 
language  would  not  be  used  in  a  case  where 
one  despised  that  blessed  person.  No  man  has 
joy  worth  having  without  the  Spirit;  and  no 
man  has  the  Spirit  who  holds  him  in  contempt. 
The  Spirit  gives  holy  delight  in  holy  things. 

Christians  also  rejoice  in  God's  providence. 
"The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the  earth  rejoice ;  let 
the  multitude  of  the  isles  be  glad  thereof." 


536  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

They  also  delight  in  the  house  of  God,  and  cry, 
"How  amiable  are  thy  tabernacles,  0  Lord  of 
hosts."  In  the  associated  people  of  God,  his 
church,  they  also  rejoice,  saying,  "If  I  forget 
thee,  0  Jerusalem,  let  my  right  hand  forget 
her  cunning;  if  I  do  not  remember  thee,  let 
my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth ;  if  I 
prefer  not  Jerusalem  above  my  chief  joy."  Psa. 
137  :  5,  6.  In  his  word  too  they  have  great 
joy.  David  said,  "Thy  testimonies  are  the 
rejoicing  of  my  heart."  "How  sweet  are  thy 
words  to  my  taste;  yea,  sweeter  than  honey 
to  my  mouth."  Psa.  119  :  103.  So  God's  peo- 
ple rejoice  in  all  that  pertains  to  God,  all  that 
is  pleasing  to  him,  all  that  makes  them  like 
him. 

If  these  views  be  correct,  then  it  follows, 
1.  That  the  knowledge  of  divine  things  is 
very  necessary  to  the  existence  and  completion 
of  a  true  Christian  character.  Charnock  says, 
"Who  can  delight  in  God  that  hath  no  sense 
of  the  goodness  of  his  nature  and  the  happiness 
of  fruition  ?  Who  can  delight  in  his  ways  who 
does  not  understand  him  as  good  and  indulgent 
in  his  precepts  as  he  is  sweet  and  bountiful 
in  his  promises?  If  we  did  know  him,  we 
should  be  as  easily  drawn  to  rejoice  in  him,  as 


JOY.  537 

by  ignorance  we  are  induced  to  run  from  him. 
Such  charms  would  be  transmitted  to  our  hearts 
as  would  constrain  a  joy  in  them  in  spite  of  all 
other  delights  in  perishing  pleasures.  Know- 
ledge of  God  is  a  necessary  preface  to  spiritual 
joy  in  him.  'My  meditation  of  him  shall  be 
sweet;  I  will  be  glad  in  the  Lord.'  Psalm 
104  :  34.  .  .  .  What  pleasure  can  a  man,  igno- 
rant of  God's  nature  and  delightful  perfections, 
and  that  represents  him  through  some  mis- 
taken gloss  which  imprints  unworthy  notions 
of  God  in  his  mind — what  pleasure  can  such  a 
man  take  in  approaching  to  God,  or  what  great- 
er freedom  can  he  have  in  coming  to  him,  than 
a  malefactor  in  being  brought  before  a  judge?" 
Let  the  knowledge  of  God  therefore  dwell  in 
you  richly  in  all  wisdom  and  spiritual  under- 
standing. If  you  would  be  more  joyful,  know 
more  of  divine  things.  "Acquaint  thyself 
with  God,  and  be  at  peace."  "Search  the 
Scriptures." 

2.  Our  joy  need  not  be  feeble  and  sickly, 
but  provision  is  made  that  it  may  be  ample. 
Even  when  sorrowful,  we  may  be  always  re- 
joicing. 2  Cor.  6:10.  Men  may  persecute 
and  defame  us;  but  this  is  our  rejoicing,  the 
testimony  of  our  consciences.     2  Cor.  1:12. 

23* 


538  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

We  may  be  exceedingly  glad  in  the  duties  of 
religion,  and  find  it  good  to  draw  near  to  God. 
If  kept  from  uniting  with  his  people  in  public 
worship,  he  himself  can  be  to  us  for  a  little 
sanctuary.  When  the  springs  of  earthly  com- 
fort go  dry,  then  to  the  believer  ''the  parched 
ground  shall  become  a  pool,  and  the  thirsty 
land  springs  of  water."  Isa.  35 :  7.  When  we 
are  denied  the  things  of  the  world,  we  may 
rejoice  in  the  assurance  of  a  better  and  more 
enduring  substance.  When  every  thing  looks 
dark  and  discouraging  for  the  interests  of 
religion,  then  we  may  rejoice  in  knowing  that 
Jesus  Christ  loves  the  church  better  than  we 
do,  and  that  she  is  graven  on  the  palms  of  his 
harids;'- '  Our  joy  may  go  so  far  as  to  make  us 
glory  in-tribulation.  It  can  keep  us  from  re- 
gretting that  we  have  undertaken  the  service 
of  Christ ;  so  that  the  more  we  are  tried,  the 
more  it  will  be  manifest  that  we  cleave  to  him 
with  purpose  of  heart ;  and  though  we  may  be 
weary  in  his  service,  we  are  not  weary  of  his 
service. 

3.  True  holy  joy  is  one  of  the  most  opera- 
tive of  all  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit.  Nothing  will 
more  certainly  or  thoroughly  arouse  men  to 
do  their  utmost  for  the  cause  of  God.     Paul 


JOY.  539 

testifies  of  the  church  of  Macedonia,  that  "in 
a  great  trial  of  affliction,  the  abundance  of  their 
joy  and  their  deep  poverty  abounded  unto  the 
riches  of  their  liberality."  2  Cor.  8  :  2.  Yea, 
he  declares  that  their  joy  made  them  willing 
to  do  more  than  it  was  in  their  power  to  do. 
This  holy  joy  is  the  animating  principle  of  true 
obedience.  Thus  "David  and  the  elders  of 
Israel,  and  the  captains  over  thousands,  went 
to  bring  up  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the 
Lord  out  of  the  house  of  Obed-edom  with  joy.'' 
1  Chron.  15 :  25.  Thus  in  the  da^^s  of  Ezra 
holy  men  "kept  the  dedication  of  the  house  of 
God  with  joy."  Ezra  6: 16.  So  says  Isaiah, 
"The  meek  shall  increase  their  joy  in  the 
Lord,  and  the  poor  among  men  shall  rejoice 
in  the  Holy  One  of  Israel."     Isa.  29  :  19. 

Indeed  the  human  mird  is  so  constituted 
as  to  be  easily  and  powerfully  moved  by  all 
the  class  of  pleasing  affections,  of  which  none 
is  more  powerful  than  joy.  And  so  we  uni- 
formly find  men  to  be  happy  whose  lives  are 
given  up  to  labor  for  the  good  of  others.  Their 
holy  delight  in  deeds  of  mercy  leads  them  to 
lives  of  self-denial,  and  this  exercise  of  their 
loving  dispositions  strengthens  them.  Among 
the  many  thousands  of  letters  I  have  received, 


540  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

not  a  few  have  been  from  missionaries  in  fron- 
tier settlements  and  in  heathen  lands;  and 
although  some  of  them  have  detailed  painful 
scenes,  yet  I  do  not  remember  one  that  was  in 
a  despondent  mood.  So  wherever  you  find 
one  animated  by  the  spirit  of  Howard  or  of 
Elizabeth  Fry,  you  invariably  find  them  of  a 
happy  temper. 

Their  converts  were  to  the  apostles  a  joy 
and  a  crown.  Paul  says  to  some,  "Now  we 
live,  if  ye  stand  fast."  Even  stripes  and  pris- 
ons and  chains  could  not  repress  the  ardor  of 
holy  men  of  old.  They  were  not  sent  a  war- 
fare at  their  own  charges.    God  was  with  them. 

4.  This  subject  explains  to  us  how  the  peo- 
ple of  God  are  brought  to  bear  so  well  the 
losses,  sorrows,  bereavements,  and  disappoint- 
ments of  life. 

"Joy  never  feasts  so  high 
As  when  the  first  course  is  of  miseiy." 

The  highest  joy  to  the  Christian  almost  always 
comes  through  suffering.  ' '  No  flower  can  bloom 
in  paradise  which  is  not  transplanted  from 
Gethsemane.  No  one  can  taste  of  the  fruit  of 
the  tree  of  life- that  has  not  tasted  of  the  fruits 
of  the  tree  of  Calvary."  God's  people  know 
this.     If  tears  are  their  meat  day  and  night, 


JOY.  541 

their  sadness  drives  them  to  God,  and  with  joy 
they  draw  water  out  of  the  wells  of  salvation. 
Isa.  12:  3.  The  crops  may  fail,  but  the  cove- 
nant stands  sure.  We  and  all  nature  may 
change,  but  God  is  the  same.  To  those  who 
put  their  trust  in  him,  he  is  without  intermis- 
sion Father,  Friend,  God,  Eedeemer,  Saviour, 
Comforter,  Portion,  and  eternal  All ;  and  so  he 
will  continue  for  ever.  He  who  has  God  for 
his  God,  ought  not  to  be  cast  down  because  the 
world  casts  him  out.  He  who  has  such  joys, 
ought  not  to  be  humbly  begging  the  world  for 
its  favor,  nor  seeking  a  slice  from  the  loaf  of 
ungodly  men.  He  who  cares  not  for  eternal 
things,  may  busy  himself  to  be  in  fashion  here ; 
but  Avhen  the  joy  of  the  Lord  is  our  strength, 
we  ought  not  to  grieve  at  little  things.  Thus 
saith  the  Lord,  ''Strengthen  ye  the  weak  hands, 
and  confirm  the  feeble  knees.  Say  to  them 
that  are  of  a  fearful  heart.  Be  strong,  fear  not : 
behold,  your  God  will  come  with  vengeance, 
even  God  with  a  recompense;  he  will  come 
and  save  you."  Isa.  35  :  3,  4.  In  all  the  right- 
eous is  more  or  less  fulfilled  the  prophecy: 
"The  ransomed  of  the  Lord  shall  return,  and 
come  to  Zion  with  songs  and  everlasting  joy 
upon  their  heads:  they  shall  obtain  joy  and 


542  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

gladness,   and  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee 
away.'^     Isa.  35  :  10. 

Nor  are  they  glad  for  nothing.  There  are 
no  comforts,  no  cordials,  no  delights  like  those 
which  God  gives  to  his  well-beloved.  To  the 
blind  world  all  religious  joys  may  seem  like 
enthusiasm ;  but  the  human  mind  is  never  more 
sound,  its  operations  are  never  more  safe  than 
when  in  holy  triumph  the  people  of  God  take 
joyfully  the  spoiling  of  their  goods,  or  are  filled 
with  ecstasy  at  the  suffering  of  reproach  for  the 
name  of  Christ.  The  hosannas  and  hallelujahs 
of  the  house  of  God  on  earth  are  as  seasonable 
and  as  reasonable  as  those  of  the  temple  not 
made  with  hands.  It  is  an  apostolic  direction, 
"Is  any  merry,  let  him  sing  psalms."  We 
have  apostolic  example  also  for  singing  praises 
to  God  in  the  most  trying  circumstances.  Paul 
says,  "We  faint  not;  but  though  our  outward 
man  perish,  yet  the  inward  man  is  renewed 
day  by  day.  For  our  light  affliction,  which  is 
but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far  more 
exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory;  while 
we  look  not  at  the  things  which  are  temporal, 
but  at  the  things  which  are  eternal.'^  2  Cor. 
4  :  16-18.  It  has  long  since  been  determined 
in  the  church  that  it  is  better  to  suffer  for 


JOY.  543 

Christ,  if  lie  will  give  strength  and  joy,  than 
to  live  in  ease  and  quiet.  The  hotter  the  battle, 
the  more  renowned  the  victory.  The  harder 
the  labor,  the  sweeter  the  rest.  The  darker 
the  night,  the  more  joyous  the  morning. 

5.  It  is  wise  to  be  religious,  to  be  strictly, 
earnestly,  scrip turally  religious.  All  the  doc- 
trines of  revealed  religion  are  true,  safe  for 
man,  honorable  to  God.  All  the  duties  of  true 
religion  are  reasonable  and  ennobling.  Christ 
is  no  hard  Master ;  he  requires  nothing  de- 
grading. In  the  progress  of  revolution,  Napo- 
leon Buonaparte  judged  it  necessary  to  divorce 
the  wife  of  his  youth.  In  accomplishing  this 
object  he  required  her  son  to  act  a  part,  and 
publicly  declare  his  approbation  of  the  meas- 
ure while  all  the  time  his  heart  was  burning 
with  rage  at  the  atrocity  perpetrated  against 
his  mother.  Here  was  real  degradation.  Je- 
sus Christ  has  sometimes  called  his  people  to 
die  for  him,  but  he  never  asked  one  of  his  ser- 
vants to  do  a  mean  thing,  a  thing  which  made 
him  gnaw  his  tongue  for  resentment,  and  yet 
to  profess  that  all  was  necessary.  No ;  he  im- 
poses no  duties  but  those  which  will  elevate 
our  character  for  ever. 

The  prospects  opened  before  the  truly  pious 


544  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

are  no  less  pleasing  than  their  duties.  It  is 
not  denied  that  there  are  conflicts  and  sharp 
sorrows  in  the  service  of  God ;  but  even  they 
end  in  the  greater  joys.  An  old  writer  says, 
''Give  me  a  man  that,  after  many  secret  stings 
and  hard  conflicts  in  his  breast,  upon  a  serious 
penitence  and  sense  of  reconciliation  with  his 
God,  hath  attained  to  a  quiet  heart  and  is  walk- 
ing humbly  and  closely  with  God ;  I  shall  bless 
and  emulate  him  as  a  subject  of  true  joy ;  for 
spiritually  there  never  is  a  perfect  calm  but 
after  a  tempest.  .  .  .  Set  me  at  full  variance 
with  myself,  that  I  may  be  at  peace  with  thee, 
0  God."  Nothing  but  a  true  and  powerful 
religious  principle  could  have  made  Paul,  in 
the  depths  of  his  sufferings,  say,  "I  am  filled 
with  comfort,  I  am  exceeding  joyful  in  all  our 
tribulation."     2  Cor.  7  :  4. 

6.  It  is  the  duty  of  all  God's  people  so  to 
live  that  they  may  enjoy  religion.  Much  has 
been  done  for  them ;  they  ought  to  make 
much  of  it.  Many  and  great  things  have  been 
granted  them ;  many  and  great  thanks  should 
be  rendered  by  them.  Unless  our  religion 
makes  us  to  some  extent  joyful,  it  quite  fails 
of  its  object.  From  this  remark  we  should 
except  cases  of  deep  melancholy.     Poor  Cow- 


JOY.  545 

per  exclaimed,  ''I  arise  in  the  morning  like  an 
infernal  frog  out  of  Acheron,  covered  with  the 
ooze  and  mud  of  melancholy."  Again,  "Could 
I  be  translated  to  Paradise,  unless  I  could 
leave  my  Ibody  behind  me,  my  melancholy 
would  cleave  to  me  there. '^  Although  tem- 
pests, earthquakes,  and  shattered  nerves  are 
not  under  the  absolute  control  of  either  reason 
or  religion,  yet  blessed  be  God  that  he  has 
spoken  many  kind  things  to  the  timid,  the  fee- 
ble-minded, and  the  sorrowing ;  so  that  if  dis- 
ease allows  the  mind  any  fair  play,  the  pious 
have  at  least  seasons  of  sunshine. 

Jesus  Christ  said  that  his  teachings  were 
designed  to  make  his  people  happy.  "These 
things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  my  joy 
might  remain  in  you,  and  that  your  joy  might 
be  full.''  Again,  "These  things  I  speak  in  the 
world,  that  they  might  have  my  joy  fulfilled 
in  themselves."  John  15  :  11 ;  17  :  3.  John 
says  the  same:  "These  things  write  we  unto 
you,  that  your  joy  may  be  full."  1  John  1  :  4. 
So  that  if  we  have  no  religious  enjoyment,  it 
is  either  because  we  have  no  religion  or  but 
little  religion,  or  because  we  are  sadly  afflicted 
and  diseased.  True  piety  is  as  sure  to  have 
joy,  as  it  is  to  have  penitence  or  faith  in  it. 


54:6  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

''  The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  joy.^^  Gal.  5  :  22. 
"They  that  sow  in  tears,  shall,"  sooner  or  later, 
"reap  in  joy."  Psa.  126:5.  Satan  may  tempt, 
providences  may  look  dark,  friends  may  grow 
cold,  faith  may  be  weak,  disease  may  enfeeble 
and  for  a  time  bury  the  mind  in  a  cloud,  but 
whenever  reason  reascends  the  throne  and 
grace  resumes  her  sway,  there  will  be  joy. 
Christians,  labor  to  be  happy.  Strive  to  com- 
mend your  religion  by  being  well  "anointed 
with  the  oil  of  gladness." 

7.  This  subject  specially  invites  our  atten- 
tion to  heavenly  things.  Grod's  people  have 
real  satisfaction  here,  but  in  his  immediate 
"presence  is  fulness  of  joy;  at  his  right  hand 
are  pleasures  for  evermore."  Psa.  16 :  11. 
God's  people  through  life  long  to  be  clothed 
upon  with  their  house  which  is  from  heaven. 
And  so  "when  desire  cometh,  it  is  a  tree  of 
life."  Prov.  13  :  12.  In  that  blessed  world 
sin,  temptation,  sorrow,  sickness,  and  death 
have  no  place.  Faith  is  swallowed  up  in  sight, 
and  hope  in  enjoyment.  Ignorance  gives  place 
to  perfect  knowledge.  Here  the  soul  had  long 
said  of  God,  "Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but 
thee  ?  and  there  is  none  upon  earth  that  I  de- 
sire besides  thee."  There  it  sees  his  full  glories 


JOY.  547 

revealed  in  the  person. of  Jesus  Christ,  and  is 
satisfied  to  all  eternity  in  the  visions  of  uncre- 
ated splendors.  One  of  the  ancients  said, 
''Praise  the  sweetness  of  honey  as  much  as 
thou  canst,  he  who  has  never  tasted  it  cannot 
understand  the  matter."  The  same  is  true  of 
holy  joys  on  earth,  and  much  more  of  the  per- 
fect joys  of  heaven.  Of  the  latter  God  gives 
his  people  a  foretaste  in  the  comforts  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  he  dispenses  here.  It  is 
true  they  are  but  as  a  few  clusters  from  the 
vintage  of  Canaan,  but  they  are  enough  to 
whet  our  appetite  for  the  abundant  and  unmin- 
gled  blessings  of  the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect. 

Leigh  ton  says,  ''When  we  shall  receive 
that  rich  and  pure  and  abiding  inheritance, 
that  salvation  which  shall  be  revealed  in  the 
last  time,  and  when  time  itself  shall  cease  to 
be,  then  there  shall  be  no  more  reckoning  of 
our  joys  by  days  and  hours,  but  they  shall  run 
parallel  with  eternity.  Then  all  our  love, 
that  is  now  parcelled  out  upon  the  vanities 
among  which  we  are  here,  shall  be  united  and 
gathered  into  one  and  fixed  upon  God,  and  the 
soul  shall  be  filled  with  the  delight  of  his  pres- 
ence." 


548  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

One  of  Bunyan's  dying  sayings  was,  ''  Oh, 
who  is  able  to  conceive  the  inexpressible  and 
inconceivable  joys  that  are  in  heaven  ?  None 
but  they  who  have  tasted  of  them.  Lord,  help 
us  to  put  such  a  value  upon  them  here,  that  in 
order  to  prepare  ourselves  for  them,  we  may 
be  willing  to  forego  the  loss  of  all  deluding 
pleasures  here."  Another  was,  "If  you  would 
be  better  satisfied  what  the  beatifical  vision 
means,  my  request  is  that  you  would  live  ho- 
lily  and  go  and  see."  Bishop  Hall  says,  "My 
soul,  while  it  is  thus  clogged  and  confined,  is 
too  strait  to  conceive  of  those  incomprehen- 
sible and  spiritual  delights  which  thou,  0  God, 
hast  provided  for  thy  chosen  ones  who  triumph 
with  thee  in  heaven.  Oh  teach  me  then  to 
wonder  at  that  which  I  cannot  attain  to  know, 
and  to  long  for  that  happiness  which  I  there 
hope  to  enjoy  with  thee  for  ever." 

Meikle  thus  contrasts  the  present  and  the 
future  life.  He  says,  "  In  this  life  I  may  have 
at  times  a  mortal  health ;  but  in  that  I  shall 
have  always  eternal  vigor.  In  this  life  I  may 
have  some  tainted  pleasures ;  but  in  that  I  shall 
have  always  pure  delights  and  holy  raptures. 
In  this  life  I  may  have  at  times  a  few  friends 
for  a  few  days ;  but  in  that  I  shall  have  always 


JOY.  549 

all  my  friends  about  me  for  ever.  In  this  life 
I  may  have  at  times  some  acres  of  ground ;  but 
in  that  I  shall  have  always  an  unbounded  in- 
heritance in  the  heavenly  Canaan.  Here  fine 
clothing  of  wool ;  there  robes  of  righteousness 
and  garments  of  glory.  Here  a  house  painted 
with  vermilion;  there  'a  house  not  made  with 
hands.'  Here  bread  to  eat  and  water  to  drink  j 
there  the  hidden  manna  and  the  river  of  life. 
Here  a  portion  of  the  good  things  of  timej 
there  the  glorious  treasures  of  eternity. 

"As  to  spiritual  good  things,  in  this  life  I 
may  have  communications  of  grace ;  but  in  that 
life  I  shall  have  eternal  glory.  Here  freedom 
from  the  reign  of  sin ;  there  deliverance  from 
the  being  of  sin.  Here  glances  of  faith ;  there 
immediate  vision.  Here  God  in  his  ordi- 
nances ;  there  uninterrupted  communion.  Here 
manifestations  of  love ;  there  all  the  transports 
of  eternal  assurance  and  everlasting  bliss. 
Here  access  to  the  throne  of  grace ;  there  un- 
interrupted attendance  at  the  throne  of  glory. 
Here  I  often  sin  against  God;  there  I  shall 
never  offend  the  eyes  of  his  glory.  Here  I  go 
mourning  without  the  sun ;  there  my  sun  shall 
go  down  no  more." 

And   so  he  carries  the  contrast  entirely 


550  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

through.  Whatever  evil  you  have  here,  you 
shall  have  the  opposite  good  in  heaven.  What- 
ever good  thing  you  have  here,  you  shall  have 
the  same  in  perfection,  or  something  far  bet- 
ter, at  God's  right  hand.  To  go  to  heaven  is 
to  "  enter  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 


ZEAL.  551 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

ZEAL. 

"Zeal  is  the  fire  of  love, 
Active  for  duty,  burning  as  it  flies." 

Zeal  is  ardor,  and  is  good  or  bad  accord- 
ing to  the  principles  from  wliicli  it  flows  and 
the  end  to  which  it  is  directed.  It  is  the  life 
of  every  cause  dependent  on  human  exertions. 
The  habits  and  tempers  of  men  control  its 
modes  of  operation.  In  religion  its  impor- 
tance is  very  great,  and  its  nature  should  be 
well  understood.  The  Scriptures  give  pre- 
cepts and  examples,  motives  and  encourage- 
ments on  the  whole  subject. 

So  soon  as  the  word  zeal  is  pronounced, 
some  seem  alarmed.  Men  of  the  world  and 
formalists  speak  much  and  feel  more  against 
all  ardor  in  religion.  "The  natural  man  re- 
ceive th  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God.'^ 
Some  say,  "If  the  Christian  religion  is  true, 
why  do  its  avowed  friends  manifest  so  little 
zeal  in  maintaining  and  propagating  it  ?''  This 
solemn  inquiry  admits  of  but  one  solution, 
namely,  The  best  of  men  are  but  half  awake. 


552  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Imperfection  mars  all  human  virtue  here  ber 
low.  In  all  things  we  come  short.  Yet  the 
very  men  who  start  such  questions  will,  upon 
a  turn,  put  the  brand  of  fanaticism  on  all  who 
manifest  a  lively  interest  in  the  salvation  of 
men.  Cecil  says,  ''The  world  will  allow  a 
vehemence  approaching  to  ecstasy  on  almost 
every  subject  but  religion,  which  above  all 
others  will  justify  it."  The  real  temper  of 
wicked  men  is  unchanged  from  generation  to 
generation.  As  in  the  days  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist and  of  Christ,  they  are  still  like  the  chil- 
dren in  the  market-place.  If  we  pipe,  they 
will  not  dance.  If  we  mourn,  they  will  not 
lament.  We  must  look  elsewhere  than  to  the 
world  for  rules  of  pious  living,  for  guides  to 
holiness.  Even  the  visible  church  of  God  falls 
far  below  the  true  standard  of  holy  fervency 
demanded  in  religion. 

It  is  readily  conceded  that  there  is  false 
zeal  manifested  for  religion.  The  word  of  God 
so  teaches.  ' '  They  zealously  affect  you,  but 
not  well."  Gal.  4  :  17.  Of  old  Jehovah  said, 
' '  Ephraim  hath  mixed  himself  among  the  peo- 
ple; Ephraim  is  a  cake  not  turned."  Here 
God  admits  that  in  some  things  his  servant 
was  strict  and  zealous.     In  others  no  less  im- 


ZEAL.  553 

portant,  he  was  lax  and  cold.  His  zeal  was 
partial,  and  so  was  deficient.  In  our  Saviour's 
day,  many  showed  much  ardor  in  tithing  mint, 
anise,  and  cummin ;  they  passed  over  faith, 
justice,  mercy,  and  the  love  of  God.  They 
strained  at  a  gnat,  and  swallowed  a  camel. 
They  made  much  ado  about  light  things,  but 
had  no  zeal  for  weighty  things.  What  they 
did  was  in  itself  right,  but  what  they  left  un- 
done was  indispensable.  The  religion  of  hyp- 
ocrites is  never  symmetrical.  It  despises  di- 
vine rules.  Its  code  of  laws  is  eclectic.  It 
never  submits  to  the  whole  will  of  Heaven. 

All  zeal  which  has  for  its  object  any  thing 
forbidden  in  the  oracles  of  God,  as  all  will- 
worship  and  uncommanded  austerities,  is  a 
false  zeal.  Something  of  this  nature  often  en- 
ters largely  into  false  religions.  Human  inven- 
tions in  religion  are  multiform,  and  always  dan- 
gerous. Admit  one  as  any  part  of  true  piety, 
and  there  is  no  end  to  error  and  man's  devices. 
God's  word  condemns  a  superstitious  zeal. 
Before  his  conversion,  Paul  was  ''more  ex- 
ceedingly zealous  of  the  traditions  of  his  fa- 
thers" than  ''many  his  equals"  in  other  re- 
spects. The  world  has  always  been  and  still 
is  overstocked   with  a  blind  veneration    for 

VIt«l  OodllDesB.  24 


654  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

much  that  has  been  devised  by  man.  The 
more  of  this  kind  of  zeal  any  one  has,  the  worse 
man  is  he.  The  priests  of  Baal  "  cried  aloud, 
and  cut  themselves  after  their  manner  with 
knives  and  lancets,  till  the  blood  gushed  out 
upon  them."  They  were  Yery  zealous,  and  yet 
abominably  wicked.  Many  a  man  is  the  worse 
citizen,  neighbor,  husband,  father,  brother,  and 
friend,  because  his  spurious  zeal  has  perverted 
even  the  generous  instincts  of  his  nature. 

The  Scriptures  condemn  all  blind  zeal. 
They  require  every  man  to  be  fully  persuaded 
in  his  own  mind.  Hooker  says,  "Zeal  need- 
eth  a  sober  guide."  He  who  has  no  "reason 
of  the  hope  that  is  in  him"  is  self-deceived. 
The  terrible  rebuke  of  Christ  to  the  Samari- 
tans, "  Ye  worship  ye  know  not  what,"  should 
alarm  fiery  zealots.  Ignorance  was  a  radical 
fault  in  the  ardor  of  the  Jews  in  apostolic  times. 
Paul  gives  witness  to  their  zeal  for  God,  but 
adds  that  it  was  not  according  to  knowledge. 
"For  they  being  ignorant  of  God's  righteous- 
ness, and  going  about  to  establish  their  own 
righteousness,  have  not  submitted  themselves 
to  the  righteousness  of  God."  They  put  the 
law  where  they  should  place  the  gospel.  They 
ignored  the  merits  of  Christ. 


ZEAL.  555 

Sometimes  zeal  is  contentious,  and  so  be- 
trays its  spurious  nature.  Some  build  church- 
es, endow  asylums,  defend  the  truth,  yea, 
"  preach  Christ  of  contention,  but  not  sin- 
cerely.'^  Good  to  man  and  glory  to  God  may 
be  brought  out  of  their  labors ;  but  they  shall 
have  no  divine  reward.  Their  works  shall  be 
burned  up,  and  they  shall  suffer  loss.  Alas, 
how  many  forget  that  the  wrath  of  man  work- 
eth  not  the  righteousness  of  God.  The  great- 
est error  of  Paul  before  his  conversion  was, 
that  "touching  zeal,  he  persecuted  the  church.'^ 
No  darker  sign  can  attend  a  religious  profes- 
sion than  a  cruel,  supercilious,  denunciatory 
spirit.  "Bless,  and  curse  not."  "As  we  have 
opportunity,  let  us  do  good  unto  all  men."  "In 
meekness  instructing  those  that  oppose  them- 
selves." 

Sometimes  zeal  is  ostensibly  for  religion, 
but  really  for  selfish  ends.  It  will  serve  itself 
or  a  party,  but  not  Christ.  Men  have  com- 
passed sea  and  land  to  make  one  proselyte, 
who,  when  made,  was  worse  than  before.  His 
conversion  was  not  to  God,  to  duty,  to  holi- 
ness, to  obedience.  Those  who  plied  him  with 
means  and  arguments  never  desired  his  sanc- 
tification  ;   they  wanted  his  name  and  influ 


556  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

ence.  In  every  age  are  found  some  professors 
of  religion  who  rejoice  more  at  making  a  pros- 
elyte than  a  convert;  who  are  more  pleased 
at  seducing  an  unstable  soul  out  of  another  into 
their  own  communion,  than  in  plucking  a  brand 
from  the  everlasting  burnings.  This  is  indeed 
sad.  Let  such  learn  what  manner  of  spirit 
they  are  of. 

Zeal  is  often  boastful  and  ostentatious. 
Jehu  said,  ''Come  with  me,  and  see  my  zeal 
for  the  Lord  of  hosts."  The  old  Pharisees 
sounded  a  trumpet  before  them  when  they  were 
about  to  give  alms;  and  for  a  pretence,  they 
made  long  prayers.  Even  in  pious  men  there 
is  often  a  mixture  of  motives ;  and  vanity  comes 
in  to  mar  their  good  works. 

Sometimes  zeal  which  otherwise  appears 
well  is  but  temporary,  and  so  proves  its  spuri- 
ous nature.  At  one  time  the  Galatians  would, 
if  possible,  have  given  their  eyes  to  the  man 
who  was  the  means  of  their  conversion.  They 
seemed  to  begin  in  the  spirit,  but  they  ended 
in  the  flesh.  They  were  soon  turned  aside. 
Their  zeal  did  not  last.  They  did  run  well 
for  a  time,  but  by  and  by  they  were  hindered. 
They  counted  as  an  enemy  the  man  who  told 
them  the  truth.     With  their  ardor  they  lost 


ZEAL.  557 

also  their  comfort  in  religion,  so  that  Paul 
says  to  them,  "Where  is  the  blessedness  ye 
spake  of?" 

In  some  cases  zeal  betrays  its  spurious 
character  by  the  self-righteousness  which  it 
engenders.  Christ  taught  his  disciples,  saying, 
''  When  ye  have  done  all  these  things  which 
are  commanded  you,  say.  We  are  unprofitable 
servants ;  we  have  done  that  which  it  was  our 
duty  to  do.''  But  some  come  away  from  the 
most  solemn  acts  of  devotion  puffed  up  with 
pride,  and  ready  to  say  to  others,  "Stand  by 
thyself,  come  not  near  to  me ;  for  I  am  holier 
than  thou."  Of  such  God  says,  "These  are  a 
smoke  in  my  nose,  a  fire  that  burneth  all  the 
day.  I  will  recompense  into  their  bosom." 
Isa.  65  :5.  "What  hast  thou  that  thou  hast 
not  received?"  "Not  unto  us,  not  unto  us, 
but  to  thy  name  give  glory."  "From  me  is 
thy  fruit  found." 

But  there  is  a  true  and  scriptural  zeal.  All 
fervor  in  religion  is  not  rash,  blind,  boastful, 
contentious,  superstitious,  temporary,  or  self- 
righteous.  Genuine  zeal  is  "  the  wisdom  that 
is  from  above,"  and  "  is  first  pure,  then  peace- 
able, gentle,  easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy 
and  good  fruits,  without  partiality,  and  without 


558  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

hypocrisy."  Jas.  3:17.  True  zeal  has  no  by- 
ends.  Its  principle  and  its  aim  are  holiness. 
It  leads  to  purity.  For  peace  it  will  give  up 
every  thing  but  truth  and  a  good  conscience. 
It  wars  not  after  the  flesh.  It  rejects  carnal 
weapons.  It  is  full  of  courtesy,  candor,  and 
kindness.  It  forbears.  It  forgives.  It  pities. 
It  yields  to  reasonable  arguments  and  sugges- 
tions. It  is  not  obstinate.  It  hates  malice.  It 
loves  mercy.  Its  fruits  are  wholesome  and 
healthful.  It  pours  blessings  both  on  its  ob- 
jects and  its  subjects,  on  its  friends  and  its  foes. 
It  cares  not  for  vain  distinctions  which  men  of 
the  world  regard ;  but  without  partiality,  with- 
out respect  of  persons,  it  does  good  to  all  men, 
especially  to  the  household  of  faith.  It  is  un- 
unfeigned.  It  feels  all  it  professes,  and  more. 
It  dotes  not  "about  questions  and  strifes  of 
words  whereof  cometh  envy,  strife,  railings, 
evil-surmisings,  and  perverse  disputings.''  Its 
zeal  is  for  the  simple  truth.  True  zeal  is  not 
light  without  heat ;  yet  it  is  modest.  If  God 
be  glorified  and  his  cause  advanced,  it  is  will- 
ing to  remain  unnoticed.  It  is  ready  to  con- 
tend earnestly,  but  not  bitterly,  for  the  truth. 
If  it  falls  into  error,  it  is  not  incorrigible.  It 
is  moved  with  alacrity,  but  not  hurried  by 


ZEAL.  659 

impetuosity.  It  leaves  a  sweet  savor  on  the 
minds  of  all  the  pious.  It  seeks  not  its  own. 
Its  glory  is  to  glorify  God.  Its  happiness  is 
to  make  others  blessed.  It  loves  rich  and 
poor,  and  delights  in  blessing  the  bond  and  the 
free.  It  weeps  over  human  wickedness.  It 
rejoices  in  all  truth,  in  all  goodness. 

Though  mild  and  meek,  it  is  not  timid  and 
cringing.  When  the  enemy  comes  in  like  a 
flood,  the  Lord  lifts  up  a  standard  against  him 
in  the  person  of  his  humble  people.  Then  ''the 
righteous  are  as  bold  as  a  lion."  The  servant 
of  God  is  firm,  not  by  his  natural  strength, 
but  through  the  grace  that  is  given  unto  him. 

This  zeal  lasts ;  it  is  not  fickle.  It  is  a  fire 
fed  by  the  oil  poured  into  the  heart  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  It  loves  its  toils,  and  even  its 
sufferings  for  Christ  and  his  people.  Its  meat 
and  its  drink  is  to  do  and  to  suffer  the  will  of 
God.  It  is  different  from  any  principle  which 
governs  the  men  of  the  world.  It  is  enlight- 
ened; it  is  "wisdom.''  It  hates  vainglory.  It 
is  strongest  when  self  is  most  out  of  view.  It 
finds  its  aliment  in  a  lively  faith  in  the  lively 
oracles.  It  hopes  against  hope.  Because  it 
springs  from  love  to  Christ,  it  fears  not  self- 
denial.     In  no  case  is  it  indeed  perfect.     This 


660  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

keeps  the  most  zealous  good  men  in  an  humble 
frame.  There  is  probably  more  true  zeal  in 
the  church  of  God  than  is  sometimes  supposed 
to  exist ;  yet  there  is  far  less  than  the  miseries 
of  men,  the  love  of  Christ,  and  the  glory  of 
Grod  imperatively  demand. 

The  ways  in  which  a  genuine  zeal  may 
exert  itself  are  many.  It  does  not  forget  its 
own  immortal  interests.  He  whose  heart  is 
warmed  with  fire  from  heaven,  does  not  neg- 
lect his  own  soul,  but  keeps  his  heart  with  all 
diligence,  for  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life. 
Like  Henry  Martyn,  he  says,  ''My  first  great 
business  on  earth  is  the  sanctification  of  my 
own  soul."  The  first  step  towards  doing  good 
is  to  be  good.  It  is  a  sad  spectacle  when  we 
see  men  busy  here  and  there,  but  caring  not 
to  make  their  own  calling  and  election  sure. 
It  is  mournful  when  a  man  is  constrained  to 
take  up  the  lamentation,  ''They  made  me  the 
keeper  of  the  vineyards,  but  mine  own  vine- 
yard have  I  not  kept."  We  are  never  more 
mistaken  than  when  we  imagine  ourselves 
called  upon  to  do  some  duty  which  interferes 
with  the  cultivation  of  personal  piety.  Our 
blessed  Saviour  has  set  us  a  good  example  in 
this  respect.    Though  he  was  charged  with  the 


ZEAL.  561 

business  of  redeeming  a  world,  and  though  he 
knew  that  his  personal  ministry  on  earth  would 
be  very  short,  yet  he  never  neglected  commun- 
ion with  God.  He  spent  whole  nights  in  de- 
votion. The  zeal  of  God's  house  consumed 
him.  None  walked  with  God  so  closely  as  he. 
Indeed  his  personal  devotedness  to  God  was 
the  aliment  of  all  his  holy  fervor.  Be  wise  for 
thyself. 

But  true  charity  looks  not  only  on  its  own 
things,  but  also  on  the  things  of  others.  It 
takes  the  beam  out  of  its  own  eye,  but  it  is 
then  ready  to  take  the  mote  out  of  its  neigh- 
bor's eye.  It  first  weeps  for  its  own  sins ;  it 
then  mourns  for  the  iniquities  of  others.  Thus 
Jeremiah  said  to  his  nation,  "If  ye  will  not 
hear  it,  my  soul  shall  weep  in  secret  places 
over  your  pride,  and  mine  eye  shall  weep  sore 
and  run  down  with  tears."  Ezekiel  also  tells 
us  that  when  God  was  about  to  send  his  mes- 
sengers to  destroy  the  land  and  to  waste  its 
people,  he  sent  before  them  an  angel  with  an 
inkhorn,  to  "set  a  mark  upon  the  foreheads  of 
the  men  that  sighed  and  cried  for  all  the  abom- 
inations that  were  done."  Often  all  that  the 
righteous  can  do  is  to  weep  in  secret,  and  cry, 
**  Oh  that  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked  were 

24* 


562  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

come  to  an  end !"  Matthew  Henry  says,  "The 
sight  of  sin  either  makes  a  man  sad  or  guilty. 
If  we  see  it,  and  are  not  sorrowful,  we  are 
guilty."  Blessed  is  the  man  who  weeps  for  the 
wickedness  of  men,  and  as  he  has  opportunity 
testifies  against  it,  and  warns  men  of  coming 
judgments. 

Another  proper  field  for  pious  zeal  is  the 
sanctuary.  There  it  makes  and  there  it  per- 
forms many  holy  vows.  There  it  swells  the 
voice  of  joy  and  praise.  There  it  beholds  the 
King  in  his  beauty.  There  it  is  delighted  with 
memories  of  past  mercies,  and  ravished  with 
visions  of  future  glories.  The  prayers  appro- 
priate to  the  sanctuary  are  sure  to  meet  with  a 
hearty  response  from  all  who  have  heavenly 
zeal.  The  anthems  of  praise  belonging  to  the 
courts  of  the  Lord's  house  animate  the  humble 
soul,  and  awaken  longings  for  heavenly  glories. 

True  zeal  also  delights  in  sustaining  sober, 
practical,  and  benevolent  institutions,  whose 
aim  is  to  enlighten  mankind,  elevate  public 
sentiment,  and  bring  sinners  to  Christ.  Nor 
will  a  true  zeal  forget  the  family.  A  zeal 
which  is  warm  and  active  abroad,  but  cold  and 
formal  at  home,  is  not  of  the  genuine  kind. 
He  who  lets  the  fire  die  out  on  the  domestic 


ZEAL.  563 

altar  cannot  be  a  useful  member  of  the  churcb 
of  Christ.  Could  we  once  see  a  generation 
of  the  friends  of  Christ  duly  attentive  to  the 
duties  of  piety  at  home,  it  would  be  a  better 
sign  of  the  approach  of  the  latter  day's  glory 
than  has  yet  ajDpeared.  Oh  that  Grod  would 
now  turn  the  hearts  of  the  parents  to  the  chil- 
dren, and  the  hearts  of  the  children  to  the 
parents. 

Another  fit  work  for  true  zeal  is  found  in 
direct  personal  efforts  for  the  salvation  of  im- 
penitent men  around  us.  Grenuine  religious 
ardor  watches  for  souls.  Above  all  things,  it 
delights  to  win  souls.  It  seeks,  yea,  it  makes 
occasions  to  speak  a  word  for  God.  It  is  in- 
genious in  devices  to  do  good.  It  will  try  a 
thousand  ways  and  a  thousand  times.  It  sows 
its  seed  in  the  morning ;  in  the  evening  it  with- 
holds not  its  hand.  If  successful,  it  greatly 
rejoices,  and  gives  God  all  the  glory. 

In  our  age  and  country  there  is  special 
need  of  unquenchable  zeal  in  religion.  Now 
and  here  every  thing  is  active.  Evil  grows 
apace;  iniquity  comes  in  like  a  flood.  The 
wicked  sleep  not  except  they  have  done  some 
mischief.  Population  and  wealth  grow  as  by 
magic.      Enterprise  is  unparalleled.      While 


564  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

good  men  sleep  the  enemy  is  sowing  tares. 
Error  is  rife  and  restless.  Nothing  but  mighty 
efforts,  owned  and  blessed  of  Grod,  can  save 
millions  of  our  people  from  a  worldly  spirit, 
which  will,  if  it  prevail,  drown  them  in  de- 
struction and  perdition.  Lord,  increase  our 
faith.  If  a  man  could  say  but  one  sentence  to 
his  generation  in  the  assured  hope  that  it  would 
be  heard  and  heeded,  he  could  hardly  say  any 
thing  better  than  this :  "  It  is  good  to  be  zeal- 
ously affected  always  in  a  good  thing.'' 

The  interests  of  society  in  its  present  state 
call  for  our  best  efforts.  The  earth  is  filled 
with  violence  and  with  the  habitations  of  cru- 
elty. To  this  remark  there  is  no  exception 
beyond  the  pale  of  the  church  of  God  and  the 
sphere  of  her  influence.  Jewish  prejudice, 
Mohammedan  delusion,  Popish  superstition. 
Pagan  idolatry,  and  baptized  infidelity  are 
crushing  alike  the  best  feelings  and  the  bright- 
est hopes  of  men.  General  happiness  in  na- 
tions ruled  by  maxims  of  wickedness  and  by 
men  of  impiety  never  has  been  and  never  can 
be  secured.  The  little  knowledge  and  liberty 
and  virtue  now  on  earth  are  the  fruit  of  the 
tears  and  toils  and  blood  of  men  of  whom  the 
world  was  not  worthy. 


ZEAL.  565 

From  the  temporal  miseries  of  men  who  are 
without  Grod  in  the  world,  we  readily  pass  in 
thought  to  a  death  without  comfort,  a  judgment 
without  mercy,  an  immortality  without  the  life 
everlasting,  an  eternity  without  light,  without 
hope,  and  without  change  but  from  bad  to 
worse.  There  is  indeed  something  dreadful 
even  here  in 

"  That  cloud  of  mind 
Whicli  cannot,  dares  not  see  the  light;" 

in  those  dark  and  gloomy  apprehensions  and 
contemplations  which  fill  the  minds  of  the 
guilty  and  superstitious.  But  it  is  still  more 
true  that  bones  of  iron  and  sinews  of  brass  will 
not  be  able  to  endure  the  weight  of  that  sore 
displeasure  which  will  fall  on  the  wicked  in  a 
future  world.  There  is  something  glorious  in 
the  peace  and  joy  of  a  pardoned  sinner  on 
earth ;  but  something  ineffably  grand  and  rav- 
ishing in  the  thought  of  a  soul  saved,  disen- 
thralled, perfected  in  heaven.  Eye  hath  not 
seen,  ear  hath  not  heard,  the  heart  of  man  hath 
not  conceived  the  good  things  which  God  hath 
prepared  for  them  that  love  him,  nor  the  evil 
things  which  he  hath  treasured  up  for  them 
that  hate  him.  Infinite  joys  and  infinite  woes, 
fathomless  mercy  and  fathomless  misery,  heav- 


666  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

enly  bliss  and  eternal  wrath  depend  on  the 
course  men's  souls  pursue  in  time.  That  course 
is  often  determined  by  means  of  things  which 
at  the  time  seem  trivial.  "  Behold  how  great 
a  matter  a  little  fire  kindleth."  Surely  every 
act  of  human  life  may  draw  after  it  consequen- 
ces so  vast  as  to  defy  all  powers  of  computa- 
tion, and  even  of  conception.  A  word  may 
subvert  an  empire.  A  word  may  save  a  soul. 
*' A  word  fitly  spoken,  how  good  is  it."  It  is 
like  apples  of  gold  in  a  network  of  silver. 

Nor  is  any  thing  in  religion  more  condu- 
cive to  our  happiness  than  liveliness  in  the 
cause  of  God.  Holy  ardor  is  as  oil  to  ma- 
chinery ;  it  makes  every  thing  work  smoothly. 
God  meets  him  that  rejoiceth  and  worketh 
righteousness.  His  most  arduous  duties  refresh 
his  spirit.  He  comes  to  them  and  from  them 
not  as  a  hireling,  but  as  a  child  who  delights 
in  the  law  of  God  after  the  inner  man. 

Nor  should  we  ever  forget  that  God  abhors 
all  services  in  religion  where  the  heart  is  want- 
ing. A  religion  without  zeal  is  offensive  to 
God.  Duly  considered,  it  is  monstrous  to  all 
right-minded  men.  The  insincere  will  God 
smite,  and  there  shall  be  no  healing. 

A  wise  man  said,  "  It  is  better  to  do  a  little 


ZEAL.  567 

good  than  a  great  deal  of  mischief."  Very- 
few  will  attempt  a  logical  refutation  of  this 
aphorism.  It  is  better  to  inspire  one  man 
with  the  love  of  truth  than  to  bring  a  whole 
generation  under  the  power  of  error  and  delu- 
sion. It  is  better  to  convert  one  sinner  from 
the  error  of  his  ways  than  to  make  all  Israel 
to  sin.  It  is  better  to  fill  one  heart  with  joy  at 
an  act  of  love  than  to  fill  every  valley  with 
wailing  by  deeds  of  malignity. 

Besides,  it  is  the  plan  of  God  that  great 
results  should  follow  apparently  small  begin- 
nings. That  mighty  oak  whose  trunk  has  be- 
come the  keel  of  the  enormous  ship  was  once  a 
small  plant,  which  the  tread  of  a  lamb  or  kid 
or  fawn  might  have  crushed.  To  plant  an 
acorn  is  better  than  wantonly  to  slay  a  forest. 
The  necessity  of  doing  even  a  little  good,  when 
we  can  do  no  more,  arises  from  the  fact  that  so 
many  and  so  mighty  evil  influences  are  abroad, 
and  from  the  further  fact  that  life  is  made  up 
of  deeds  the  effect  of  any  one  of  which  may  be 
apparently  trivial.  The  enemy  is  always  at 
work;  therefore  should  we  be  ever  diligent. 
If  the  friends  of  truth  are  inactive,  the  world 
will  soon  be  ruined.  Destruction  wastes  at 
noon-day.     Publicity  is  not  to  be  sought,  but 


568  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

neither  is  it  to  be  shunned,  by  the  friends  of 
God,  if  he  calls  them  before  kings  and  courts 
and  crowds.  And  as  wickedness  distils  its 
influences  secretly,  so  let  wholesome  truths  be 
taught  privately. 

The  enemy  has  some  advantages.  One  is, 
that  it  is  easier  to  pull  down  than  to  build  up, 
to  destroy  than  to  create,  to  corrupt  than  to 
purify,  to  kill  than  to  make  alive.  The  foes  of 
God  are  also  lively.  Their  industry  is  worthy 
of  a  better  cause.  It  is  high  time  that  all  right- 
minded  men  should  awake.  For  though  they 
are  few  and  feeble,  God  is  on  their  side.  Noth- 
ing is  too  hard  for  him.  None  can  resist  him. 
None  can  deceive  him.  He  can  bind  the  strong 
man,  and  then  spoil  his  goods.  "If  God  be 
for  us,  who  can  be  against  us?"  If  he  make 
bare  his  arm,  all  nations  shall  tremble  before 
him. 

Let  none  of  the  friends  of  God  forget  that 
a  little  done  every  day  will  in  the  end  amount 
to  much. 

Sands  form  the  mountains ; 
Minutes  make  the  year. 

This  is  the  secret  of  a  life  of  usefulness.  He 
who  is  faithful  in  the  least,  is  the  man  whose 
virtue  will  not  fail  him  on  great  occasions. 


ZEAL.  569 

Christians  should  endeavor  to  do  good  in 
the  least  exceptionable  way.  "Let  not  your 
good  be  evil  spoken  of."  "A  good  action 
indiscreetly  performed  is  little  better  than  a 
prudent  piece  of  mischief.'^  The  carnal  mind 
sufficiently  opposes  holiness  without  our  need- 
lessly irritating  it.  Cunning  is  indeed  odious 
and  wicked ;  but  prudence  is  a  duty.  Trick  is 
despicable.  Address  is  obligatory.  Paul's 
life  affords  many  admirable  examples  of  con- 
summate wisdom  in  allaying  prejudices,  in 
quelling  storms  of  human  passion.  "  Whatso- 
ever thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy 
might.''     ''  No  man  liveth  to  himself." 

What  a  blessing  to  thousands  it  would  be 
if  all  who  can  would  lend  or  give  good  books 
to  those  who  will  read  them.  Milton  well 
says  that  ''books  are  not  absolutely  dead 
things;  but  do  contain  a  progeny  of  life  in 
them  to  be  as  active  as  that  soul  was  whose 
progeny  they  are ;  nay,  they  do  preserve  as  a 
vial  the  purest  efficacy  and  extraction  of  that 
living  intellect  that  bred  them.  ...  As  good 
almost  kill  a  man  as  kill  a  good  book:  who 
kills  a  man,  kills  a  reasonable  creature;  but 
he  who  destroys  a  good  book,  kills  reason  it- 
self. ...     A  good  book  is  the  precious  life- 


570  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

blood  of  a  master-spirit,  embalmed  and  treas- 
ured up  on  purpose  to  a  life  beyond  life."  I 
had  rather  be  the  author  of  Poor  Joseph,  a 
little  tract,  than  of  Homer's  Iliad ;  or  of  the 
Swearer's  Prayer,  another  little  tract,  than  of 
Yattel's  Law  of  Nations.  To  spread  the  know- 
ledge of  God  by  good  books  has  long  been  a 
favorite  method  of  doing  good. 

Another  excellent  method  of  usefulness  is 
giving  good  advice.  Almost  all  the  practical 
good  in  this  world  is  the  result  of  good  coun- 
sel, no  small  part  of  which  is  offered  without 
solicitation,  but  on  a  proper  occasion  and  in  a 
right  spirit.  In  giving  advice,  beware  of  dog- 
matizing and  of  all  superciliousness. 

In  all  plans  of  usefulness,  pay  due  atten- 
tion to  the  young.  They  are  alike  the  hope  of 
the  church  and  of  the  state.  Their  habits  are 
not  yet  inveterate ;  their  sensibilities  are  not 
yet  blunted.  By  kindness  you  may  win  their 
confidence.  By  perseverance  you  may  make 
an  impression  on  their  minds  and  hearts. 

Abound  in  prayer.  Many  a  time  it  has 
opened  heaven.  Many  a  time  it  has  opened 
prisons,  opened  doors  of  usefulness,  opened  the 
hand  of  parsimony  and  the  heart  of  severity. 
It  has  both  opened  and  shut  the  mouth  of  the 


ZEAL.  571 

grave.     By  it  the  cause  of  righteousness  has 
success  and  stability.     By  it  the  feeble  gain 
the  victory  and  the  slow  win  the  race.    "What 
we  win  by  prayer  we  wear  with  comfort."   Do 
all  you  can  to  stir  up  a  spirit  of  zeal  in  your 
own  heart.    Get  the  strongest  conceptions  you 
can  of  the  value  of  eternal  things,  especially 
by  visiting  dying  beds  and  deserted  souls,  and 
then  flee  to  your  closet  and  cry  mightily  to 
God  for  his  blessing  on  the  perishing.     "He 
who  has  God's  heart  shall  not  want  his  arm." 
God  has  closely  united  our  duty  and  our 
happiness  in  a  thousand  ways.     In  the  fall  of 
18^-,  a  young  man  was  spending  a  vacation 
with  a  friend.     He  found  in  his  mansion  ele- 
gance,  hospitality,   and  piety.     The  grounds 
were  large,  and  the  family  was  more  than  com- 
monly agreeable.     He  could  ride  or  read,  or 
engage  in  fishing  or  hunting.     For  a  few  days 
he  greatly  enjoyed  the  change.     His  health 
needed  recruiting,   and  he  felt  better.     But 
soon  uneasiness  followed.     He  lacked  full  em- 
ployment.   He  was  not  sure  that  he  could  give 
a  good  account  of  his  mode  of  spending  time. 
He  began  to  feel  guilty.  Killing  birds  and  catch- 
ing fish,  not  so  much  for  food  as  for  pastime, 
seemed  to  him  of  doubtful  propriety.     To  ride 


572  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

without  an  object  was  uninteresting.  In  short, 
he  was  in  danger  of  becoming  melancholy. 

At  this  time  he  heard  of  a  lot  of  Bibles  in 
the  neighborhood  for  distribution  among  the 
poor.  He  determined  to  walk  and  scatter  this 
good  seed.  He  went  from  house  to  house, 
meeting  with  various  kinds  of  reception,  all  of 
them  civil  and  some  of  them  cheering. 

At  length  he  came  to  a  plain  house,  and 
was  welcomed  by  a  plain  woman  at  the  door. 
He  entered,  and  saw  seated  around  the  fire 
five  of  her  children,  not  one  of  whom  could 
walk  or  utter  an  articulate  sound.  As  he 
entered  they  raised  a  hideous  noise.  Their 
mother  said  it  expressed  pleasure  at  seeing 
him.  Seldom  has  one  beheld  a  more  painful 
sight.  Besides  these  five  was  a  son  of  sound 
mind,  but  deformed  and  crippled  in  his  lower 
limbs.  He  was  a  shoemaker.  There  was  also 
a  daughter  well-grown  and  strong,  but  of  a 
feeble  mind  and  violent  temper. 

The  mother  of  these  children  was  a  poor 
widow.  The  visitor  introduced  the  subject  of 
religion,  which  he  found  a  theme  welcome  to 
her.  The  Bible  was  there.  It  looked  as  if  it 
was  well  read.  When  this  woman  spoke,  it 
was  chiefly  of  the  goodness  of  God.     He  in- 


ZEAL.  573 

quired  of  her  difficulties.  She  admitted*  that 
she  had  trials,  but  told  him  how  well  the  Lord 
supplied  her  wants.  He  found  it  good  to  be 
there.  He  prayed  with  them  all,  spoke  a  few 
words  of  encouragement  especially  to  the  wid- 
ow, and  bade  them  farewell.  He  has  never 
seen  a  mother  more  contented  and  thankful. 

He  left  the  house  rebuked  for  his  melan- 
choly, which  had  in  it  perhaps  much  ingrati- 
tude. He  could  not  but  admire  the  power  of 
divine  grace  in  this  poor  woman.  He  did  not 
inquire  to  what  church  she  belonged.  She 
gave  evidence  of  belonging  to  the  invisible 
company  of  faithful  ones  who  love  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Soon  after  he  left  the  house  he 
sought  a  place  for  prayer  and  praise.  His  sad- 
ness left  him.  That  poor  woman's  behavior 
and  conversation  were  better  to  him  than  many 
sermons.  He  then  found  out  that  a  secret  of 
happiness  was  to  engage  in  hearty  self-deny- 
ing labors  for  the  good  of  men,  and  especially 
of  the  poor  and  afflicted. 

The  highest  motive  which  can  be  presented 
to  a  pious  mind  in  favor  of  a  life  of  zeal  and 
devotedness  is,  that  thus  we  do  what  we  can 
to  glorify  our  Grod  and  Saviour.  To  be  allow- 
ed to  honor  the  Father  of  our  mercies,  the  God 


574  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

of  all  grace,  and  the  Savioiir  of  sinners,  is  one 
of  the  highest  privileges  ever  bestowed  on  mor- 
tals. So  the  righteous  have  always  esteemed 
it.  The  wants,  the  woes,  the  weal  of  mankind 
may  properly  be  thought  of  as  motives  to  a 
life  of  labor  and  usefulness.  But  they  are  as 
nothing  compared  with  the  glory  of  Him  who 
hath  made  all  things  for  himself,  who  is  before 
all.  above  all.  over  all,  throusrh  all.  and  in  us 
all.  That  his  name  may  be  hallowed,  his  king- 
dom come,  and  his  will  be  done,  are  three  of 
the  seven  petitions  in  the  Lord's  prayer ;  and 
thev  are  the  first  three.  Before  aU  thinors  we 
should  endeavor  to  honor  Grod. 


CONCLUDING  OBSEEVATIONS.       575 

CHAPTER  XXY. 

CONCLUDING  OBSEEVATIONS. 

In  closing  this  work,  attention  is  asked  to 
a  few  general  observations.  These  mav  aid  in 
rightly  understanding  and  applying  the  weighty 
truths  already  considered. 

I.  The  symmetkt  of  Christian  character. 

Whoever  has  one  Christian  grace  is  sure 
to  have  others.  In  the  genuine  child  of  God, 
all  the  elements  of  piety  are  united.  He  who 
has  strong  hope,  and  no  fear  of  Grod,  will  soo% 
become  presumptuous.  He  who  has  strong 
fears,  but  no  hope  in  God,  will  be  desperate. 
TTithout  reverence,  love  degenerates  into  fond- 
ness ;  and  without  love,  dread  degenerates  into 
aversion.  Faith  that  is  not  humble  can  never 
lay  hold  of  the  most  precious  truths  of  the  gos- 
pel ;  and  humility  that  does  not  rely  on  God 
is  but  abjectness.  Joy  that  is  not  chastened 
with  mournins:  for  sin  becomes  criddv  and  tri- 
fling ;  while  sorrow  for  sin  that  joys  not  in  God 
works  death.  Peace  which,  when  called  to 
contend  for  the  faith,  refuses  to  stand  up  for 
the  truth,  would  betray  the  cause  of  Christ; 


576  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

while  lie  wlio  loves  contention  and  hates  peace, 
is  carnal  and  odious.  Meekness  without  cour- 
age is  but  childishness ;  and  courage  without 
meekness  is  forwardness  and  brutality. 

There  is  a  consanguinity  between  all  the 
qualities  that  form  the  Christian  character. 
The  elements  of  one  good  trait  contain  the 
germ  of  others.  Paul  speaks  of  Christian  char- 
acter as  a  unit :  ''The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love, 
joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness, 
faith,  meekness,  temperance.''  John  says  the 
same:  ''He  that  loveth  him  that  begat,  loveth 
him  also  that  is  begotten  of  him."  No  man 
isan  love  the  Father  without  loving  the  Son, 
who  was  sent  by  him.  He  who  loves  the 
image  of  God  in  the  Son,  loves  the  image  of 
Grod  whenever  discerned  in  the  humblest  Chris- 
tian. It  cannot  be  otherwise.  Any  thing  con- 
trary to  this  makes  hypocrisy  and  formalism  as 
precious  as  true  piety. 

The  great  defect  in  all  who  make  a  spuri- 
ous profession  of  religion  is,  not  that  they  have 
not  some  things  about  them  that  look  well,  but 
all  is  out  of  proportion.  They  have  zeal,  but 
not  gentleness;  they  have  boldness,  but  not 
meekness.  They  pretend  to  more  than  they 
feel.      With  all  their  ardor  they  display  vain- 


CONCLUDING  OBSEEVATIONS.        577 

glory  and  self-suf&ciency.  Sometimes  they 
excuse  iniquity  and  smile  at  sin.  Their  char- 
ity does  not  "bear  all  things."  They  incline 
to  censoriousness.  To  some  they  are  rude ;  to 
others  they  will  not  speak  a  civil  word ;  to 
others  they  have  real  hatred. 

In  the  beatitudes  Jesus  Christ  described 
but  one  character.  Where  poverty  of  spirit, 
mourning  for  sin,  meekness,  hungering  and 
thirsting  for  righteousness,  mercifulness,  purity 
of  heart,  and  love  of  peace  are  genuine,  they 
are  found  together.  Circumstances  will  call 
one  grace  into  more  vigorous  exercise  than 
another.  But  if  we  have  truly  passed  from 
death  unto  life,  God  will  enable  us  in  due 
time  to  exhibit  every  Christian  temper.  Hu- 
man features  out  of  all  proportion  are  hideous. 
The  same  is  true  of  any  character  called  re- 
ligious. 

II.  A  HOLY  LIFE  ALONE  PROVES  PIETY  GEN- 
UINE. 

Words  are  cheap.     Edwards. 
Actions  speak  louder  than  words.    Proverb. 
Practice  is  the  life  of  piety,     t.  Watson. 
Even  a  child  is  known  by  his  doings.  Solomon. 
Every  one  that  doeth  righteousness  is  born 

of  him.      John. 

vital  OodllDesA.  25 


578  VITAL  GOB-LINESS. 

As  the  body  without  the  spirit  is  dead,  so 
faith  without  works  is  dead  also.     James. 
If  ye  love  me,  keep  my  commandments. 

Jesus  Christ. 

1.  That  no  man  is  better  than  his  life 
proves  him  to  be,  seems  to  be  the  judgment  of 
all  mankind.  Even  a  little  child  cannot  be 
won  by  mere  words,  though  it  may  understand 
them.  The  best  part  of  mankind  are  slow  in 
making  professions,  because  they  know  how 
hard  it  is  to  perform  what  we  promise.  The 
last  to  engage  is  often  the  first  to  fulfil.  The 
very  existence  of  such  words  as  truth,  candor, 
honesty,  integrity,  faithfulness,  and  their  oppo- 
sites,  falsehood,  deception,  fraud,  and  faithless- 
ness, shows  that  the  judgment  of  mankind  on 
these  points  is  harmonious.  All  men  know 
that  words  are  breath,  and  deeds  only  are 
realities.  Profession  is  not  principle.  Prac- 
tice is  the  best  expounder  of  the  heart. 

2.  God  seldom  reproves  men  for  being 
slow  to  engage,  while  he  constantly  guards 
them  against  the  sin  of  not  performing  their 
promises.  Joshua  warned  the  Israelites  on 
this  subject.  Josh.  24:16,  19.  Indeed  in  so 
many  words  Solomon  says,  "Be  not  rash  with 
thy  mouth,  and  let  not  thy  heart  be  hasty  to 


CONCLUDING  OBSEEVATIONS,       579 

utter  any  thing  before  God."  Eccles.  5  :  2. 
See  context.  Compare  Matt.  7:21-27,  and 
1  John  3:18,  19. 

3.  As  holiness  is  not  natural  to  man,  the 
Scriptures  say  explicitly  that  whosoever  doeth 
righteousness  is  born  of  God.  1  John  2 :  29. 
He  has  a  new  nature,  obtained  in  regeneration. 
He  has  the  life  of  God  in  his  soul.  Only  that 
which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit.  When 
we  see  a  man  working  righteousness,  warring 
against  sin,  and  heartily  doing  the  will  of  God, 
we  know  that  an  almighty  power  has  changed 
his  nature.     He  is  a  new  creature. 

4.  Whatever  does  not  lead  to  a  holy  life 
is  worthless  in  the  sight  of  God.  Man  looks 
at  the  outward  appearance,  but  the  Lord  looks 
at  the  heart.  David  walked  before  God  in 
truth  and  righteousness,  and  in  uprightness  of 
heart.  All  religious  profession  which  ends  in 
show  is  at  the  best  Pharisaism  dressed  up  in 
evangelical  attire.  If  the  heart  is  not  swayed 
by  it,  the  heart  is  unchanged.  "He  that  do- 
eth righteousness  is  righteous;  he  that  com- 
mitteth  sin  is  of  the  devil."  All  pretences  to 
piety  which  end  not  in  a  godly  life  are  utterly 
vain.  Men  obey  not,  because  they  love  not. 
They  hearken  not,  because  their  ears  are  un- 


550  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

circumcised.  There  is  no  folly  greater  than 
double-dealing  with  God.  ''A  hypocrite  is 
hated  of  the  world  for  seeming  a  Christian, 
and  hated  of  Grod  for  not  being  one."  All 
outward  religious  acts  may  be  performed  with- 
out a  spark  of  love  to  Christ.  "Two  attend- 
ances upon  public  worship  is  a  form  complied 
with  by  thousands  who  never  kept  a  Sabbath 
in  their  lives.''  How  few  heartily  engage  in 
the  work  of  mortifying  sin.  When  men  are 
this  moment  devout,  and  the  next  carnal; 
when  to-day  they  are  all  zeal  for  God,  and  to- 
morrow all  zeal  for  politics ;  when  they  have 
not  respect  unto  all  God's  commandments,  but 
seek  laxity ;  when  their  religious  raptures  are 
followed  by  fleshly  frolics,  then  their  religion 
is  vain. 

Men  should  therefore  be  very  careful  lest 
they  deceive  themselves  respecting  both  the 
reality  and  the  strength  of  their  own  piety. 
The  daily  business  of  a  Christian  is  to  resist 
the  devil,  deny  himself,^  overcome  the  world, 
crucify  the  flesh  with  the  affections  and  lusts, 
imitate  Christ,  walk  with  God,  and  strive  to 
enter  in  at  the  strait  gate.  It  is  the  heartless 
who,  like  the  "children  of  Israel,  being  armed 
and  carrying  bows,  turned  back  in  the  day  of 


CONCLUDING  OBSERVATIONS.        581 

battle."  "The  Christian  gains  no  victories 
without  combat." 

On  the  other  hand,  he  whose  life  is  hol}^ 
has  the  fabric  of  his  peace  built  upon  a  rock. 
God  cannot  deny  him,  for  that  would  be  deny- 
ing his  own  work  and  signet.  Although  we 
do  not  enter  heaven  for  our  good  works,  yet 
we  do  not  enter  heaven  without  our  good 
works. 

III.  True  Christians  are  greatly  blessed. 

As  the  greatest  curses  are  spiritual,  so  the 
greatest  blessings  are  also  spiritual.  Our  great 
wants  must  be  supplied  out  of  God's  treasury, 
or  we  must  suffer  eternal  loss  and  undoing. 
Paul  uses  no  better  designation  of  the  privi- 
leges of  believers  than  when  he  speaks  of  spir- 
iiual  blessings.  God's  mercies  to  his  children 
are  sometimes  catalogued.  In  the  103d  Psalm 
David  -puts  forgiveness  of  sins  as  the  first.  It 
is  entitled  to  that  place.  Without  pardon  we 
are  under  an  awful  curse.  God  never  bestows 
saving  good  on  souls  left  in  the  chains  of  con- 
demnation. In  more  than  one  place  Paul  seems 
to  favor  the  same  arrangement. 

With  forgiveness  is  always  connected  ac- 
ceptance  in  the  Beloved.  Eph.  1:6.  So  that 
believers  are  no  more  aliens,  strangers,  for- 


582  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

eigners,  but  sons,  heirs,  fellow- citizens.  We 
are  brought  nigh  by  the  blood  and  righteous- 
ness of  Christ,  and  so  ''have  right  to  the  tree 
of  life.''     Rev.  22:14. 

From  our  justification  flows  peace  with 
God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  b}^  whom 
also  we  have  access  into  all  needed  grace,  joy, 
hope,  triumph  in  tribulation,  patience,  experi- 
ence, boldness,  the  love  of  God,  the  indwelling 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  salvation  full  and  com- 
plete. Peter  gives  a  catalogue  in  which  he 
mentions  "faith,  virtue,"  or  courage,  "know- 
ledge, temperance,  patience,  godliness,  broth- 
erly kindness,  charity."  Well  does  he  add, 
"If  these  things  be  in  you  and  abound,  they 
make  you  that  ye  shall  neither  be  barren  nor 
unfruitful  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  Blessed  treasury  of  spiritual  good 
things !  Who  can  tell  its  value  ?  It  is  the 
proof  of  a  godlike  temper  and  a  godlike  des- 
tiny. 

Sure  of  spiritual  blessings,  men  may  be 
poor,  yet  they  make  many  rich.  They  may 
have  nothing,  yet  they  possess  all  things.  They 
may  be  sorrowful,  yet  they  are  always  rejoic- 
ing. They  may  be  dying  daily,  yet  behold, 
they  live.     They  may  be  chastened,  but  they 


CONCLUDING  OBSEEVATIONS.        583 

are  not  killed.  Their  affections  are  set  on 
things  which  do  not  perish  in  the  using.  Their 
crown  is  not  the  less  bright  or  imperishable 
because  it  is  seen  by  faith  alone.  They  are 
sure  of  wearing  it  in  due  season,  if  they  faint 
not. 

Any  spiritual  blessing  is  worth  more  than  the 
most  costly  temporal  good.  A  devout  thought, 
a  pious  desire,  a  holy  purpose,  is  better  than  a 
great  estate  or  an  earthly  kingdom.  In  eternity 
it  will  amount  to  more  to  have  given  a  cup  of 
cold  water  with  right  motives  to  a  humble  ser- 
vant of  God,  than  to  have  been  flattered  by  a 
whole  generation.  God  gives  the  common  boun- 
ties of  providence  to  saints  and  sinners.  Often 
most  largely  to  the  latter.  Spiritual  blessings 
are  put  into  elect  vessels  only.  God's  people 
share  the  good  things  of  this  world  with  the 
wicked ;  but  the  world  has  no  lot  nor  part  in 
spiritual  good  things.  The  sinner  has  never 
been  pardoned,  renewed,  sanctified,  or  sav- 
ingly taught  of  God. 

The  good  things  of  time  will  soon  be  gone 
for  ever.  The  very  memory  of  them  will  im- 
bitter  the  future  existence  of  all  who  die  in 
their  sins.  But  spiritual  blessings  will  last 
eternally.     Though  faith  will  give  way  to  vis- 


584  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

ion,  and  hope  to  fruition,  yet  fruition  and  vis- 
ion are  the  legitimate  consequences  of  hope 
and  faith. 

Temporal  blessings  come  in  the  channel  of 
nature;  but  spiritual  blessings  in  the  channel 
of  grace.  The  former  are  of  the  earth,  earthy ; 
the  latter  are  from  heaven.  God  bestows  tem- 
poral blessings  on  those  who  hate  him  all  their 
days ;  but  spiritual  blessings  come  to  believers 
only,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  They 
cost  his  life,  his  toil,  his  sweat,  his  agony. 

We  may  form  some  estimate  of  the  value 
of  spiritual  blessings  by  the  promises  of  the 
covenant  which  secures  them.  Long  after  his 
ascension  to  heaven,  Jesus  Christ  promised  to 
him  that  overcometh  that  he  should  eat  of  the 
tree  of  life,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  para- 
dise of  God ;  that  he  should  be  clothed  in  white 
raiment ;  that  he  should  be  a  pillar  in  the  tem- 
ple of  God,  and  go  no  more  out ;  that  he  should 
sit  with  him  in  his  throne ;  that  he  should  eat 
of  the  hidden  manna ;  that  He  should  give  him 
a  white  stone.  How  soon  our  faculties  are 
overcome  by  attempting  to  comprehend  the 
fulness  of  such  promises.  Let  us  dwell  a  mo- 
ment on  the  last,  ''I  will  give  him  a  white 
stone."     Blunt  thus  explains  it:    "It  is  gen- 


CONCLUDING  OBSERVATIONS.        585 

erally  thought  by  commentators  that  this  refers 
to  an  ancient  judicial  custom  of  dropping  a 
black  stone  into  an  urn  when  it  is  intended  to 
condemn,  and  a  white  stone  when  the  prisoner 
is  to  be  acquitted ;  but  this  is  an  act  so  distinct 
from  that  described,  '  I  will  give  thee  a  white 
stone,'  that  we  are  disposed  to  agree  with  those 
who  think  it  refers  rather  to  a  custom  of  a  very 
different  kind,  and  not  unknown  to  the  clas- 
sical reader,  according  with  beautiful  propri- 
ety to  the  case  before  us.  In  primitive  times, 
when  travelling  was  rendered  difficult  from 
want  of  places  of  public  entertainment,  hospi- 
tality was  exercised  by  private  individuals  to 
a  very  great  extent ;  of  which  indeed  we  find 
frequent  traces  in  all  history,  and  in  none  more 
than  the  Old  Testament.  Persons  who  par- 
took of  this  hospitality  and  those  who  prac- 
tised it,  frequently  contracted  habits  of  friend- 
ship and  regard  for  each  other ;  and  it  became 
a  well-established  custom  among  the  Greeks 
and  Romans  to  provide  their  guests  with  some 
particular  mark,  which  was  handed  down  from 
father  to  son,  and  insured  hospitality  and  kind 
treatment  whenever  it  was  presented.  This 
mark  was  usually  a  small  stone  or  pebble  cut 
in  half,  and  upon  the  halves  of  which  the  host 
25* 


686  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

and  the  guest  mutually  inscribed  their  names, 
and  then  interchanged  them  with  each  other. 
The  production  of  this  tessera  was  quite  enough 
to  insure  friendship  for  themselves  or  descend- 
ants whenever  they  travelled  again  in  the  same 
direction ;  while  it  is  evident  that  these  stones 
required  to  be  privately  kept,  and  the  names 
written  upon  them  carefully  concealed,  lest 
others  should  obtain  the  privileges  instead  of 
the  persons  for  whom  they  were  intended. 
How  natural  then  the  allusion  to  this  custom 
in  the  words,  'I  will  give  him  to  eat  of  the 
hidden  manna  V  and  having  done  so — having 
make  himself  partaker  of  my  hospitality,  hav- 
ing recognized  him  as  my  guest,  my  friend,  I 
will  present  him  with  the  white  stone,  and  in 
the  stone  a  new  name  written,  which  no  man 
knoweth  saving  he  who  receiveth  it.  I  will 
give  him  a  pledge  of  my  friendship  sacred  and 
inviolable,  known  only  to  himself.'' 

TV.  Sinners  are  poor  indeed. 

It  is  a  dreadful  thing  to  want  bread.  Yet 
man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  ev- 
ery word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of 
God.  It  is  sad  to  see  a  human  being  without 
reason.  Yet  some  good  people  have  become 
insane,  and  never  waked  up  in  their  right  minci 


CONCLUDING  OBSEEVATIONS.        587 

till  they  were  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb. 
But  in  his  unregenerate  state,  man's  case  is  far 
more  pitiable.  Of  all  such,  Paul  says  they  are 
without  Christ.  They  have  no  Saviour,  no 
infallible  Teacher,  no  atoning  High-priest,  no 
Advocate  with  God,  no  King  ruling  in  right- 
eousness over  them  and  their  enemies.  With- 
out Christ,  sinners  are  nothing.  He  is  all  and 
in  all.  Well  did  an  ancient  say,  ''I  had  rather 
fall  with  Christ  than  reign  with  Caesar."  Non- 
existence is  not  so  dreadful  as  a  Christless 
state.  ''  Captives,  we  cannot  be  delivered 
without  the  redemption  which  is  in  Christ  Je- 
sus. Fools  as  we  all  are,  we  cannot  be  instruct- 
ed without  wisdom,  and  all  the  treasures  of 
wisdom  are  hid  in  Christ  Jesus.  All  plans 
and  hopes  not  built  on  him  must  fall,  for  there 
is  none  other  foundation.  All  working  with- 
out him  is  in  the  fire,  where  it  will  be  con- 
sumed. Without  him,  all  riches  make  them- 
selves wings  and  fly  away.  A  dungeon  with 
Christ  is  a  throne ;  and  a  throne  without  Christ, 
hell."  He  is  life  and  light,  and  the  delights  of 
the  sons  of  men.  Yet  sinners  are  without  him. 
They  are  also  aliens  from  the  commonwealth 
of  Israel.  They  have  no  lot  in  Jacob.  Christ's 
cause  may  advance,  but  it  brings  no  joy  to 


588  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

them.  His  kingdom  may  be  set  up  in  a  whole 
nation,  but  they  care  not  for  that.  His  honor 
may  be  great,  but  they  have  no  share  in  it. 
His  praise  may  be  sung  in  high  anthems  and 
hallelujahs,  but  to  them  it  is  as  the  voice  of 
strange  minstrels.  Prayer  may  be  offered  for 
him,  but  they  never  heartily  join  in  it.  They 
are  not  at  home  in  secret  devotion,  in  public 
worship,  or  in  the  celebration  of  the  ordinan- 
ces. They  would  be  even  less  at  home  in  the 
adorations  of  heaven.  They  have  no  inherit- 
ance in  the  church.  They  are  outcasts,  cast- 
aways, reprobate  silver.  They  are  not  sons. 
They  are  not  heirs.  Their  prospects  for  eter- 
nity are  no  better  than  if  God  had  no  church 
at  all. 

And  so  they  are  strangers  from  the  cove- 
nants of  promise.  They  have  nothing  to  rely 
upon  for  time,  nothing  for  eternity;  nothing 
for  this  life,  nothing  for  that  which  is  to  come. 
Their  heavens  are  never  spanned  by  the  bow 
of  a  rich  variety  of  promises,  divinely  girt  to- 
gether by  the  faithful  word  and  unimpeachable 
oath  of  Him  who  cannot  lie.  One  of  the  most 
gifted  among  them,  even  while  living  in  a  gos- 
pel land,  said,  "The  present  is  a  fleeting  mo- 
ment, the  past  is  no  more,  and  our  prospect  of 


CONCLUDING  OBSERVATIONS.        689 

futurity  is  dark  and  doubtful."  Sucli  men  are 
lost.  They  have  no  heavenly  guide,  no  safe 
rules  of  conduct,  no  sure  word  abiding  for  ever. 

Of  course  they  are  without  hope.  They 
may  have  dreams  of  future  good,  but  these 
will  all  vanish  like  the  mist.  Their  delusive 
expectations  are  constantly  failing.  They  in- 
dulge them  only  to  awake  to  a  keen  sense  of 
agonizing  misery.  They  are  like  the  vine  of 
Sodom  and  the  fruit  of  Gomorrah.  To  hope, 
as  an  anchor  to  the  soul,  sure  and  steadfast ;  to 
hope,  as  entering  within  the  veil ;  to  hope,  that 
does  not  mock  our  miseries ;  to  hope,  that  shall 
not  perish,  they  are  utter  strangers.  One  half 
hour's  exercise  of  such  hope  as  animates  the 
believer  would  bring  more  that  deserves  the 
name  of  happiness  than  all  the  poor  sinner  has 
ever  enjoyed.  Now  without  hope,  at  any  mo- 
ment he  may  be  in  total  and  absolute  despair. 

Such  are  also  without  God  in  the  world.  A 
godless  man  is  an  undone  man,  and  has  a  rue- 
ful eternity  before  him,  whether  he  is  a  god- 
less tyrant,  a  godless  slave,  or  a  godless  free- 
man ;  whether  he  glitters  in  gold  or  crawls  in 
debasement.  He  has  no  communion  with  his 
Maker,  no  confidence  in  Jehovah,  no  blessing 
from  the  Lord,  and  no  righteousness  from  the 


590  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

God  of  salvation.  When  nature  is  falling 
headlong,  or  is  smitten  with  wrath,  the  be- 
liever exults,  and  shouts,  ''My  Lord  and  my 
Grod."  The  poor  sinner  cannot  do  this.  He 
has  no  Grod ;  he  knows  no  God ;  he  loves  no 
God ;  he  trusts  in  no  God ;  he  has  no  hope  in 
God. 

How  poor  and  wretched  and  miserable  and 
lost  is  an  unconverted  sinner! 

How  rich  and  free  and  undeserved  is  the 
mercy  that  saves  sinners  ! 

How  loud  is  the  call  and  how  great  is  the 
obligation  to  do  all  we  can  to  save  dying  sin- 
ners ! 

How  inconceivably  dreadful  it  will  be  to 
go  to  eternity  an  unrenewed  sinner ! 

How  infinite  is  the  debt  we  owe  to  Him 
who  has  given  us  access  to  God  by  his  own 
most  precious  blood! 

Were  there  ever  such  wants  among  mor- 
tals as  the  wants  of  a  perishing  soul?  Oh,  sin- 
ner, turn  and  live. 

Y.    Is  THERE  NOT  A  LOW  STATE  OF  PIETY? 

Many  answer  the  question  in  the  affirma- 
tive. Some  may  do  so  through  uncharitable- 
ness.  But  it  cannot  fairly  be  called  a  distorted 
view  of  things  to  say  that  piety  is  in  a  low 


CONCLUDING  OBSEBVATIONS.        591 

state  generally,  and  that  in  many  places  truth 
is  fallen  in  the  streets.  Among  the  causes  of 
this  state  of  things,  we  may  notice, 

1.  The  commotions  among  the  nations, 
.''  Wars  and  rumors  of  wars"  mightily  distract 
public  attention  from  all  the  concerns  of  eter- 
nity. Piety  must  have  time  for  contempla- 
tion. We  cannot  profitably  wait  upon  Grod 
unless  we  can  do  so  without  distraction.  Tur- 
moil may  be  around  us  and  yet  but  slightly 
affect  us.  When  such  is  the  case,  grace  reigns 
mightily. 

2.  Politics.  Andrew  Fuller  says  that  many 
''have  fallen  sacrifices  to  talcing  an  eager  and 
deep  interest  in  political  disputes ^  He  speaks 
of  some  whose  "whole  heart  has  been  engaged 
in  this  pursuit.  It  has  been  their  meat  and 
their  drink ;  and  this  being  the  case,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  they  have  become  indifferent 
to  religion ;  for  these  things  cannot  consist 
with  each  other."  This  is  sound  speech  that 
cannot  be  condemned. 

3.  Love  of  money.  This  root  has  struck 
very  deep  into  many  hearts.  Nor  are  its  ill 
consequences  even  yet  fully  seen.  The  worst 
is  probably  yet  to  come.  Without  checking 
any  sober,  lawful  endeavor  to  secure  compe- 


592  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

tence  and  independence,  it  must  yet  be  said 
that  a  people  eagerly  pursuing  wealth  cannot 
be  a  very  religious  people.  "If  any  man  love 
the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in 
him.^'    "Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon.'^ 

4.  Fanaticism.  Nothing  is  more  opposed 
to  true  piety  than  a  wild,  heated,  ignorant, 
and  furious  zeal.  It  has  brought  vast  dis- 
credit on  true  religion,  and  has  driven  many 
into  infidelity  and  practical  atheism.  It  is 
like  a  flame  driven  by  fierce  winds  through  a 
forest.  It  consumes  whatever  it  meets.  Its 
unhappy  effects  are  seen  and  felt  for  half  a 
century.  It  brings  pure  revivals  of  religion 
into  disrepute.  It  awakens  distrust  of  experi- 
mental piety.  It  clothes  with  suspicion  every 
extraordinary  endeavor  to  promote  the  know- 
ledge and  love  of  God.  It  creates  a  necessity 
for  most  painful  acts  of  church  discipline,  and 
its  whole  tendency  is  to  disorder  and  irrelig- 
ion.  To  be  zealously  affected  always  in  a  good 
thing  is  a  great  attainment;  but  a  fanatical, 
fiery*  bitter  zeal  is  always  followed  by  ill  con- 
sequences. 

5.  The  attention  of  pastors  and  churches  has 
been  unduly  withdrawn  from  their  chief  work. 
Pastors  are  often  overworked.     Consequently 


CONCLUDING  OBSEEVATIONS.        593 

they  come  not  to  their  work  with  joyous  elas- 
ticity of  mind.  And  churches  sometimes  med- 
dle with  things  quite  out  of  their  line ;  so  that 
a  minister  who  labors  in  word  and  doctrine, 
who  gives  himself  entirely  to  prayer  and  the 
ministry  of  the  word,  is  regarded  as  not  up  to 
the  times. 

6.  A  low  standard  of  evidence  of  Christian 
character.  It  is  our  duty  to  "feed  the  lambs" 
and  to  "  comfort  the  feeble-minded."  But  the 
lambs  should  grow  to  be  sheep.  A  word  to 
the  weary  is  excellent,  if  it  be  in  season ;  but 
the  church  should  never  be  so  addressed  as  to 
make  her  rest  satisfied  with  low  attainments. 
If  the  babes  are  fed  on  milk  all  their  days  and 
never  get  a  taste  of  strong  meat,  they  will 
never  be  strong  men,  full  of  vigor.  Scriptural 
marks  of  a  change  of  heart  should  be  clearly 
stated. 

7.  The  neglect  of  social  prayer  and  confer- 
ence. Have  not  Christians  too  much  forsaken 
the  assembling  of  themselves  together,  that  they 
might  speak  often  one  to  another  ? 

8.  But  our  greatest  lack  is  in  the  article  of 
fervent^  importunate,  united  prayer.     Oh  for  a 

spirit  of  strong  crying  unto  God !  Would  the 
heavens  in  so  many  places  be  as  brass  if  they 


594  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

were  pierced  by  the  hearty  cries  of  God's  peo- 
ple ?  There  is  no  substitute  for  fervent  prayer. 
Let  that  cease  and  religion  must  decline. 

yi.  Time  and  Eternity. 

Formerly  it  was  customary  at  public  exe- 
cutions to  bring  an  hour-glass  to  the  scaffold 
with  the  sand  all  at  one  end,  and  when  the 
prisoner  had  taken  his  position,  to  set  the  glass 
before  him  inverted,  and  the  sands  of  the  last 
hour  of  his  life  began  to  run.  Sometimes  the 
executioner  and  sometimes  the  minister  of  re- 
ligion would  say  to  the  unhappy  man,  "Your 
sands  are  almost  run."  From  this  the  phrase 
was  transferred  to  the  pulpit,  and  men  were 
exhorted  to  speedy  repentance  because  their 
sands  were  almost  run.  Oh  that  men  would 
candidly  look  at  the  nearness  of  death  and  lay 
hold  on  eternal  life  while  it  is  called  to-day. 

An  old  writer  says,  ''  I  stopped  in  Clerken- 
well  churchyard  to  see  a  grave-digger  at  work. 
He  had  dug  pretty  deep,  and  was  come  to  an 
old  coffin  which  was  quite  rotten.  In  clearing 
away  the  mouldering  wood,  the  grave-digger 
found  an  hour-glass  close  to  the  left  side  of  the 
skull,  with  the  sand  in  it."  This  was  telling 
the  dead  that  to  them  time  was  no  longer. 
How  much  more  fit  to  put  the  hour-glass  be- 


CONCLUDING  OBSEEVATIONS.        595 

fore  the  liviDg,  and  remind  them  that  their 
hours  will  soon  all  be  gone.  Why  will  not 
men  be  warned  ?  Why  will  not  the  living  lay 
to  heart  the  things  which  belong  to  their  peace  ? 
Between  the  longest  human  life  and  eternity 
there  is  no  proportion  whatever. 

"/  have  lost  a  day^^  is  a  dreadful  sound  in 
the  ears  of  one  who  has  a  tender  conscience. 
Nothing  but  a  slighted  Saviour  seems  to  press 
so  heavily  on  dying  sinners  as  murdered  time. 

"  Bemorseless  Time, 
Fierce  spirit  of  the  glass  and  scythe,  what  power 
Can  stay  him  in  his  silent  course,  or  melt 
His  iron  heart  to  pity  ?     On,  still  on 
He  presses,  and  for  ever.     The  proud  bird, 
The  condor  of  the  Andes,  that  can  soar 
Through  heaven's  unfathomable  depths,  or  brave 
The  fury  of  the  northern  hurricane. 
And  bathe  his  plumage  in  the  thunder's  home, 
Furls  his  broad  wings  at  nightfall,  and  sinks  down 
To  rest  upon  his  mountain  crag  ;  but  Time 
Knows  not  the  weight  of  sleep  or  weariness. 
And  night's  deep  darkness  has  no  chain  to  bind 
His  rushing  pinion.     Eevolutions  sweep 
O'er  earth  like  troubled  visions  o'er  the  breast 
Of  dreaming  sorrow ;  cities  rise  and  sink 
Like  bubbles  on  the  water  ;  fiery  isles 
Spring  blazing  from  the  ocean,  and  go  back 
To  their  mysterious  caverns ;  mountains  rear 
To  heaven  their  bald  and  blackened  cliffs,  and  bow 
Their  tall  heads  to  the  plain  ;  new  empires  rise, 
Gathering  the  strength  of  hoary  centuries. 
And  rush  down  like  the  Al]Dine  avalanche, 
StartUng  the  nations ;  and  the  very  stars, 


69e  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Yon  bright  and  burning  blazonry  of  God, 
Glitter  a  while  in  their  eternal  depths, 
And  Hke  the  Pleiad,  lovehest  of  their  train, 
Shoot  from  their  glorious  sj)heres,  and  pass  away 
To  darkle  in  their  trackless  void  :  yet  Time, 
Time,  the  tomb-builder,  holds  his  fierce  career, 
Dark,  stern,  aU  pitiless,  and  pauses  not 
Amid  the  mighty  wrecks  that  strew  his  path, 
To  sit  and  muse,  like  other  conquerors. 
Upon  the  fearful  ruin  he  has  wrought." 

God  of  mercy,  give  us  grace  to  improve  each 
hour,  so  to  number  our  days  as  to  apply  our 
hearts  unto  wisdom,  and  to  be  always  doing 
some  good.  Let  madness  no  longer  reign 
within  us.     The  night  cometh  when  no  man 

CAN  WORK. 

YII.  Heaven. 

All  the  souls  that  God  has  made  are  in 
heaven,  earth,  or  hell.  We  who  are  in  earth 
know  something  about  it.  Oh  that  we  may 
never  know  by  experience  the  nature  of  the 
woes  of  the  pit!  If  we  would  be  saved,  we 
must  learn  as  we  can  something  of  heaven, 
must  breathe  something  of  its  spirit,  must  long 
for  its  blessings. 

Heaven  is  a  place.  Jesus  so  calls  it.  It 
is  a  city.  It  is  a  heavenly  country.  It  is  a 
better  country  than  any  known  on  earth.  It 
has  locality.     Of  its  position  in  relation  to  the 


CONCLUDING  OBSERVATIONS.        597 

sun,  moon,  and  planets,  we  have  no  informa- 
tion ;  and  we  need  none ;  but  heaven  exists  in 
reality,  not  merely  in  imagination. 

Heaven  is  also  a  state,  exceedingly  pure, 
holy,  excellent.  Angels  themselves  have  never 
attained  to  a  better  state.  The  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect  can  rise  no  higher. 

The  inhabitants  of  heaven  have  large  meas- 
ures of  clear  and  certain  knowledge  of  the  most 
excellent  things.  They  see  God.  They  see 
Jesus.  They  know  as  they  are  known.  They 
do  not  see  through  a  glass  darkly,  but  face  to 
face.  They  are  not  liable  to  errors,  mistakes, 
or  misapprehensions.  The  Lamb  himself  feeds 
them,  and  leads  them  to  fountains  of  living 
waters. 

The  inhabitants  of  heaven  are  happy. 
They  are  full  of  joy.  They  never  sin,  and 
they  never  sigh ;  they  never  pity  one  another, 
nor  envy  one  another,  nor  grieve  at  one  an- 
other, nor  are  mortified  by  each  other's  follies 
or  weaknesses.  Their  warfare  is  ended,  their 
turmoils  are  over,  and  their  conflicts  past. 
They  weep  no  more.  Jesus  wipes  tears  from 
off  all  faces  of  his  redeemed,  and  the  holy  an- 
gels never  did  weep. 

Heaven  is  full  of  variety.    It  is  not  all  one 


598  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

house;  there  are  many  mansions  and  many- 
holy  characters  there.  The  dwellers  therein 
praise  much,  they  exult  much,  they  admire 
much.  They  have  rest;  they  go  no  more  out; 
they  serve  God  day  and  night. 

In  heaven  society  is  perfect,  though  con- 
stantly receiving  new  and  desirable  accessions. 
All  unite  in  loving  the  Lamb  that  was  slain. 
Yet  there  is  a  great  variety  in  the  history  and 
character  of  its  inhabitants.  There  are  angels, 
who  have  great  power  and  wisdom  and  expe- 
rience. There  are  patriarchs  and  prophets 
and  apostles  and  martyrs  and  confessors  and 
reformers  and  kings  and  shepherds  and  feeble- 
minded folk  and  little  children.  There  the 
choirs  of  those  redeemed  by  atoning  blood  are 
arrayed  in  linen  white  and  clean.  Among 
them  are  infants  who  knew  not  that  there  was 
a  heaven  till  they  saw  its  pearly  gates  and 
golden  streets.  They  knew  not  that  there  was 
a  Saviour  till  they  saw  him  in  his  glory. 
Choice  spirits  are  constantly  joining  this 
throng  above.  Let  a  few  words  be  said  of 
two  who  have  lately  passed  from  earth. 

One  was  a  dear,  talented  little  creature. 
Before  her  departure  she  said, 

"I  am  not  afraid  to  die.     I  have  commit- 


CONCLUDING  OBSEBVATIONS,       699 

ted  all  to  Christ.  There  is  in  the  Bible  no 
phrase  so  precious  to  me  as,  'The  Lord  our 
righteousness/  My  pastor  is  partial  to  me. 
Let  him  not  praise  me  at  my  burial;  let  him 
exalt  the  Lorcf^s  righteousness.  When  I  com- 
mitted myself  to  Christ,  I  did  it  wholly  and 
unreservedly.  I  never  doubted  him  since.  I 
may  be  self-deceived,  but  of  Christ  I  have  no 
doubt.  When  I  appear  at  the  judgment-bar  of 
God,  if  I  should  hear  the  word,  'Depart,'  I 
should  turn  with  astonishment  to  Christ,  and 
say,  'Dear  Saviour,  there  must  be  a  mistake 
here.  Did  I  not  commit  all  to  thee  ?' ''  Again 
she  said,  "Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly.'' 
Her  last  words  were,  "While  I  have  voice 
and  memory  left,  I  wish  to  say.  The  Lord  our 
righteousness.  It  is  sufficient  for  you  all. 
It  is  all  you  need." 

She  was  soon  followed  by  another  of  like 
spirit.  In  the  year  1839,  a  family  was  made 
glad  by  the  birth  of  a  little  daughter.  Father, 
mother,  two  elder  sisters,  and  a  large  circle  of 
friends  rejoiced  together.  The  babe  was  a 
bud,  promising  beauty  and  fragrance.  Early 
in  life,  by  her  ingenuousness  and  warmth  of 
affection,  she  attached  many  to  her.  In  her 
teens,  her  schoolmates  saw  her  worth,  admired 


600  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

and  imitated.  Her  education  at  school  being 
finished,  she  noiselessly  began  to  move  in  the 
best  circles  of  pious  and  refined  society.  Here 
she  attracted  the  love  of  aged  men  and  women, 
and  of  those  pressed  with  the  cares  of  middle 
life,  no  less  than  of  the  young.  Without  a 
dash  of  forwardness,  she  was  often  the  com- 
panion of  people  thrice  her  age.  Ere  long 
divine  grace  began  its  blessed  work,  and  on 
this  lovely  stock  engrafted  the  Rose  of  Sharon. 
Still  artless  and  natural,  the  work  of  God's 
Spirit  heightened  in  her  all  that  was  previous- 
ly charming,  and  sweetly  chastened  the  exult- 
ant joyousness  of  her  youth.  Elder  sisters 
married  and  left  the  paternal  roof.  She  re- 
mained greatly  to  honor  father  and  mother, 
and  light  up  the  boyhood  of  a  younger  brother. 
On  a  visit  to  a  friend  was  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  ailment  that  removed  her  from  earth. 
Her  constitution  being  good,  she  buffeted  dis- 
ease for  a  while ;  but  at  last  she  was  shut  with- 
in doors.  Her  kind  and  skilful  medical  attend- 
ant for  a  season  thought  the  danger  slight; 
but  God's  will  was  to  take  her  to  himself. 
Alarming  symptoms  appeared,  and  about  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning  of  a  blessed  Sabbath- 
day  her  good  physician  found  her  sinking,  and 


CONCLUDING  OBSEEVATIONS.        GOl 

in  the  sweetest  manner  told  her  that  she  was 
entering  upon  her  eternal  rest.  Surprised,  but 
not  terrified,  she  calmly  inquired  when  the 
change  had  taken  place.  At  once  the  work  of 
life  rose  before  her  mind.  She  thought  of  the 
Industrial  school  and  of  the  Sabbath-school. 
She  said,  "I  have  so  much  work  to  do;  but 
God  knows  best."  To  her  brother,  who  has 
since  followed  her,  she  made  the  kindest  little 
address.  Then  turning  to  her  father,  she  said, 
*'It  is  sad  for  you  all."  On  his  assenting,  and 
saying,  "Yes,  my  child,  but  I  feel  I  shall  soon 
meet  you  in  heaven,"  she  said  in  a  clear,  audi- 
ble voice,  "I  hope  so,"  and  gently  fell  asleep 
as  the  Sabbath  bells  began  to  ring.  One  of 
her  pastors  says,  "This  coincidence  reminds  us 
of  Bunyan's  expression  respecting  what  fol- 
lowed the  entrance  of  Christian  and  Hopeful 
into  the  heavenly  Jerusalem:  'Then  I  heard 
in  my  dream  that  all  the  bells  in  the  city  rang 
again  for  joy,  and  that  it  was  said  unto  them, 
Enter  ye  into  the  joy  of  your  Lord.'  The 
last  earthly  sound  which  echoed  in  the  ear  of 
this  dying  believer  was  that  of  the  church- 
going  bell;  the  first  which  met  her  ransomed 
spirit  on  high  was  the  peal  of  welcome  from 
the  blood-washed  throng  before  the  throne." 

Vital  Godliness.  26 


602  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Dear  child,  till  the  heavens  be  no  more,  we 
shall  not  again  see  thy  charming  face  ;  but  thou 
shalt  see  the  face  of  Jesus.  Our  hearts  were 
knit  together.  I  love  thy  memory.  I  love  thy 
sincerity.  I  love  the  paths  marked  by  thy  foot- 
steps. ''I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying 
unto  me,  Write,  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in 
the  Lord  from  henceforth  :  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit, 
that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors;  and  their 
works  do  follow  them."  The  names  of  these 
young  heroes  of  the  cross  need  not  be  given. 
They  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life. 

Into  the  lips  of  a  glorified  spirit  in  heaven 
Matthew  Henry  puts  these  words:  "Would 
you  know  where  I  am  ?  I  am  at  home  in  my 
Father's  house,  in  the  mansion  prepared  for  me 
there.  I  am  where  I  would  be,  where  I  have 
long  and  often  desired  to  be ;  no  longer  on  a 
stormy  sea,  but  in  a  safe  and  quiet  harbor. 
My  work  in  time  is  done,  I  am  resting;  my 
sowing  time  is  done,  I  am  reaping ;  my  joy  is 
as  the  joy  of  harvest.  Would  you  know  how 
it  is  with  me?  I  am  made  perfect  in  holiuess ; 
grace  is  swallowed  up  in  glory  ;  the  top-stone 
of  the  building  is  brought  forth.  Would  you 
know  what  I  am  doing  ?  I  see  God ;  I  see  him 
as  he  is;  not  as  through  a  glass  darkly,  but 


CONCLUDING  OBSERVATIONS.        603 

face  to  face ;  and  the  sight  is  transforming ;  it 
makes  me  like  him.  I  am  in  the  SAveet  em- 
ployment of  my  blessed  Redeemer,  my  Head 
and  my  Husband,  whom  my  soul  loved,  and 
for  whose  sake  I  was  willing  to  part  with  all. 
I  am  here  bathing  myself  at  the  spring-he-ad  of 
the  heavenly  pleasure,  and  joy  unutterable ; 
and  therefore  weep  not  for  me.  I  am  here 
keeping  a  perpetual  Sabbath;  what  that  is, 
judge  by  your  short  Sabbath.  I  am  here 
singing  hallelujahs  incessantly  to  him  who  sits 
upon  the  throne,  and  I  rest  not  day  or  night 
from  praising  him.  Would  you  know  what 
company  I  have?  Blessed  company,  better 
than  the  best  on  earth.  Here  are  holy  angels 
and  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect.  I 
am  set  down  with  Abraham  and  Isaac  and 
Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  with  blessed 
Paul  and  Peter  and  James  and  John  and  all 
the  saints ;  and  here  I  meet  with  many  of  my 
old  acquaintances  that  I  fasted  and  prayed 
with,  who  got  before  me  hither.  And  lastly, 
would  you  consider  how  long  this  is  to  con- 
tinue ?  It  is  a  garland  that  never  withers ;  a 
crown  of  glory  that  fade^  not  away ;  after  mill- 
ions of  millions  of  ages  it  will  be  as  fresh  as  it 
is  now ;  and  therefore  weep  not  for  me." 


604  VITAL  GODLINESS. 

Grace  is  glory  begun ;  but  glory  is  grace 
matured,  completed,  crowned  with  the  fulness 
of  beatific  vision. 

Now  UNTO  THE  KiNG  ETERNAL,  IMMORTAL, 
INVISIBLE,  THE  ONLY  WISE  GrOD,  BE  HONOR  AND 
GLORY  FOR  EVER  AND  EVER.      AmEN. 


GENERAL  INDEX 


A. 

Acts,  peaceable,  421. 
Adoption  by  feith,  191. 
Advice,  good,  570. 
Advisers,  religious,  120,  142. 
Age,  tins,  superficial,  13. 
Anecdote  of  young  man,  30. 

another  young  man,  63. 

another  young  man,  571. 

Newton,  420. 

a  mother,  476. 
Anger  not  always  sinful,  493. 
Appetites  not  to  be  excessively 

indulged,  59. 
Assurance,  not  of  the  essence  of 

faith,  203. 
Awakening,  21. 

how  effected,  22. 

sometimes     unaccountable, 
26. 


Backsliding,  148. 

dangerous,  148,  150. 

of  good  and  bad  men,  149. 

without  open  sin,  151. 

easy,  151. 

attended  by  sense  of  guilt, 

155. 
recovery  from,  162,  166. 

blessed,  170. 
sorrow  for,  164, 
Bible  Society,  472. 
Bigot,  a,  402. 
BiograiDhy,   religious,    valuable, 

13. 
Books,  good,  569. 
Bravery,  434. 

26  c- 


c. 

Campbell,  Lord,  on  Bunyan,  508. 
Carefulness  in  seeking  salvation, 

65. 
Character,    right  views  of   our 

own,  65. 
Charity  and  censoriousness,  157. 
Christian    has    a    life    of   war, 

199. 
Christians,  true,  greatly  blessed, 

581. 
Closet  duties  neglected,  152. 
Comfort  declining,  160. 
Commandment,  new,  393. 
Companions,  wicked,  49. 
ComjDany,  sometimes  injurious, 

44,  58. 
Confession  of  sin,  165,  225. 
Confidence  in  Gofl,  139. 
Contentment,  454. 

not  carelessness,  454. 
opposed  to  eiivj,  456. 
corroding  care,  456. 
covetousness,  457. 
pride,  459. 
murmuring,  460. 
distrust,  461. 
fruits  of,  461. 
reasonable,  475, 
reasons  for,  479. 
how  to  obtain,  477. 
Contrast,  a,  201. 
Conversion, 

not  what  we  expect,  90. 
how  far  gradual,  91. 
early  stages  of,  92. 
the    time    of,    not    always 

kno-wn,  95. 
proveD  by  a  holy  Hfe,  96. 


606 


GENEEAL  INDEX. 


Conyersion,  the  fact  of,  not  al- 
ways known,  97. 

foui'  signs  of,  100. 

begets  humility,  meekness, 
docihty,  confidence,  obe- 
dience, 102. 

essential,  104. 
Conversions,  how  far  alilce,  88. 
Converts  commend  Christ,  94. 
Conviction,  82. 

in  itself  painful,  82. 

of  five  things,  86. 

rest  not  in,  88. 
Convictions  may  leave  us,  121. 
Courage,  a  rare  quality,  431. 

often  enjoined,  431. 

what  it  is,  433,  435,  440. 

is  humble,  437. 

explained,  438. 

active  or  passive,  441. 

if  genuine,  cannot  be  exces- 
sive, 444. 

need  of,  445. 

examples  of,  441,  442,  450. 

directions  for  obtaining,  451. 

D. 

Darkness,  spiritual,  127. 

how  it  comes  on,  131. 

in  what  it  consists,  132. 

attended  ^y  fears,  133. 

cannot  sing  songs,  134. 

deliverance  from,  138. 

find  the  cause  of,  141. 
Death  of  a  young  saint,  598. 

another  young  saint,  599. 
Desertion,  spiritual,  161. 
Despair,  tendency  to,  117,  136. 
Desponding  mind,  323. 

danger  of,  84. 
Distraction  of  mind,  68. 
Distress,  gi-eat,  69. 

not  saving,  121,  123. 

religious,  106. 
Duty,  do  your,  144. 
Djdng  in  faith,  208. 

E. 

Evils  of  the  heart  deplored,  130. 
Example  of  Jacob  Beecher,  495. 
Experience,  rehgious,  a  test,  7. 


Experience,  religious,  necessary, 
8,  17. 

testimonies  to,  8. 

not  often  handled,  12. 

difiaculties  of,  12. 

conversation  on,  15. 

uniformity  in,  16. 

advantages  of,  19. 

abuses  of,  19. 

a  low,  145. 
Experiences,  former,  how  to  be 
used,  145. 

F. 

Faith,  173. 

historical,  174. 
of  miracles,  174. 
of  de\dls,  174. 
temporary,  175. 
what  it  relates  to,  175. 
defined,  176,  186. 
exi^lained,  177,  187. 
resi^ects  all  Scripture,  179. 
especially    respects   Christ, 

179. 
sometimes  weak,  181. 
necessary,  181. 
reasonable,  182. 
needs  increase,  183. 
implicit  and  explicit,  184. 
rational,  185. 
justifying,  186. 
how  it  justifies,  190, 
proves  regeneration,  193. 
purifies  the  heart,  193. 
works  by  love,  194. 
overcomes  the  world,  194. 
is  the   foster-parent    of  all 

graces,  194. 
precious,  197. 
changed  to  sight,  198. 
labor  to  increase,  208. 
must  be  wa-ought  by  God,  84. 
Fear  of  God,  287. 

what  it  is  and  is  not,  288. 

a  grace,  289. 

arises    from   just  views    of 

God,  289. 
examples  of,  291. 
reasons  for,  294. 
much    commended  by   old 

wi-iters,  294. 


GENEKAL  INDEX. 


607 


Fear  of  God,  a  prmcij)le,  295. 

benefits  of,  297. 
Feeling,    religious,    not    to    be 
needlessly  exposed,  144. 
shallow,  7. 
Forbearance,  liow  far  obligatory, 

428; 
Fortitude,  435. 
Foxes,  the  little,  302. 

G. 

God  is  just,  83,  86. 

God's  word.     See  Scriptures. 

lively,  52.' 

alone,  126. 
Gospel,  free,  113. 

good  news  to  believers,  182, 

H. 

Hardness  of  heart,  sense  of,  115. 
Heart,  the,  very  wicked,  43. 

hard,  53. 
Heaven,  596. 
Hope  and  fear  alternate,  48. 

what  it  is,  307. 

its  author,  309. 

benefits  of,  316. 
Hopes,  true  and  false,  309. 

false,  guard  against,  122. 
Humility,  249. 

what  it  is,  250. 

unfeigned,  250. 

regards  truth,  251. 

semblance  of,  252. 

begets  confidence,  253. 

often  commended,  254. 

examples  of,  258. 

influential,  262. 

hates  flattery,  263. 

trusts  God,  264, 

in  prosperity,  266. 
in  adversity,  266. 

respects  worldly  things,  267. 
mental  qualities,  268. 
spiritual  gifts,  274. 

necessary  to  students,  269. 

opposed  to  boasting,  276. 

want  of,  hinders  salvation. 
277. 

leads  to  peace,  278. 
honor,  279. 


Humility  leads    to    communion 
mth  God,  280. 

how  acquired,  281. 
profitable,  282. 
shall  be  rewarded,  283. 
a  test  of  doctrine,  284. 
in  duties,  285. 
Hypocrites  prate,  8. 

I. 

Ignorance,  sense  of,  53. 
Illumination  of  the  Spirit,  192. 
Imf)atience,  spirit  of,  119. 

respecting  the  future,  496. 
Impressions,  religious,  early,  21. 
Infidelity  rebuked,  510. 
Inquiry,  religious,  34. 

must  be  sincere,  35. 


Jesus  Christ,  all  we  need,  72. 

what  it  is  to  come  to,  73. 

precious,  93,  143,  168. 

must  accept,  124. 

weeping  over  Jerusalem,  124. 

clear  views   of,    necessary, 
142. 

concern  for  his  honor,  159. 

lovely,  351. 
Joy,  lawful  and  unlawful,  514. 

religion  not  unfriendly  to> 
515. 

testimonies  respecting,  525. 

how  promoted,  527. 

objects  of,  532. 

may  be  strong,  537. 

is  operative,  538. 

in  sorrow,  540. 

heaven  fuU  of,  546. 

K. 

Knowledge  of  divine  things,  536. 

L. 

Lawsuits,  429. 

Levity,  dangers  of,  57. 

Life,  the  present  and  future  con- 
trasted, 548. 

Life,   holy,    alone  proves  piety 
genuine,  577. 

Love,  its  excellence,  409 
of  gratitude,  331. 


608 


GENEEAL  INDEX. 


Love  of  complacency,  333. 

of  good-will,  336. 
Love  to  God,  327. 

always  necessary,  328,  343. 

the    phrase    used    in    two 
senses,  330. 

is  generous,  338. 

seeks  to  please,  339. 

strong,  339. 

makes  happy,  340. 

its  qualities,  342. 

proves  election,  345. 
Love  to  Christ,  347. 

much  dwelt  on,  348. 

qualities  of,  351. 

may  be  imperfect,  354. 

lightly    esteems    sacrifices, 
356. 

gi-ows,  359. 

is  modest,  360. 

commends  Christ,  360. 

makes  us  blessed,  362. 

is  constraining,  364. 

essential,  365. 
Love  to  our  neighbor,  369. 

often  enjoined,  369. 

to  enemies,  373. 

fruits  of,  375. 

vail  show  itself,  382. 

motives  to,  389. 

want  of,  hinders  prayer,  391. 
Love  to  the  brethren,  393. 

often  enjoined,  396. 

when  spurious,  397. 

should  be  real,  397. 
lasting,  399. 
fervent,  399. 

remarkable  in  early  times, 
401. 

proofs  of,  402. 

a  sign  of  renewal,  403,  406. 

bright  instance  of,  403. 

motives  to,  408. 

M. 

Means  of  grace  must  not  be  neg- 
lected, 59. 
Meditation  sweet,  140. 
Mercifulness,  380. 
Mockings,  cruel,  446. 
Modesty,  not  dogmatism,  89. 


N. 

Neighbor,  who  is  our  ?  371. 
good  mshes  for,  377. 
kind  thoughts  towards  our, 

377. 
prayer  for,  377. 
forgiveness  towards,  378, 
how  much  must  we  love  our  ? 

383. 

0. 

Old  age,  500. 

miserable,  501. 

promises  to,  502. 
Opinions,  cnide,  50. 
Ordinances  unj^rofitable,  156. 

P. 

Pardon  and  jjurity  united,  94. 
Passions,  maUgnant,  dangerous, 

57. 
Patience,  482. 

what  it  is,  483. 

various  objects  of,  485. 

how  illustrated  in  Scripture, 
485. 

examples  of,  488. 

fruit  of  the  Spirit,  490. 

essential  to  Chi-istian  char 
acter,  491. 

trials  of,  492. 

how  to  promote  it,  497. 

motives  to,  505. 
Peace,  411. 

its  opi30sites,  411. 

different  kinds  of,  411. 

we  are  bound  to,  416. 
called  to,  417. 

hinderances  to,  424. 

of  great  price,  425. 

Christ,  the  pattern  of,  427. 
Persecution,  447. 
Piet}^  low  state  of,  590. 

causes  of,  591. 
Pity  to  the  poor,  381. 
Pleasures,  worldly,  474. 
Poverty,  504. 

virtuous,  471. 
Prayer  commended,  570. 
Preaching,  its  power,  31. 
Pride,  all,  dangerous,  127. 


GENEEAL  INDEX. 


609 


Q. 

Question:  Can  one  believe  as  lie 

\^as]ies?  98. 
Questions,  hard,  avoid,  123. 

solemn,  32G. 
Quibbles,  57. 

R. 

Kank  in  life,  473. 

Reasonings,  false,  answered,  76. 

Eeflection  necessary,  27. 

liable  to  interruption,  28. 

effect  of,  29. 
Reformation,  external,  not  sav- 
ing, 60. 
Religion   in   common   affaii's   of 
life,  154. 

family  neglected,  154. 

we  should  enjoy  it,  544. 
Repentance,  210. 

proper  for  sinners  only,  210. 

a  gift,  211,  239. 

reasonable,  213. 

defined,  214. 

for  sin,  218. 

humbles,  220. 

has  shame,  221. 

regards  original  sin,  223. 

works  reformation,  225. 

excited  by  God's  goodness, 
227. 

saving,  229. 

more  than  regret,  230. 

of  Judas,  231. 

of  the  hypocrite,  237. 

leads  to  restitution,  237. 

looks  to  Christ,  239. 

a  fit  sacrifice,  242. 

an  immediate  duty,  245. 

death-bed,  248. 
Resolutions  good,  35. 

made  in  human  strength,  36. 

Lavater's,  37. 

David's,  38. 

Simeon's,  422. 
Restitution,  237,  238. 
Rights,  when  we  may  assert  our, 

429. 
Rights  and  wrongs,  512. 
"Roaring,"  166. 


s. 

Saint  and  sinner  contrasted,  146. 
Sanctitication,  is  yours  advanc- 
ing? 172. 
Satan  holds  fast  his  prey,  84. 

roaring,  135. 

resisted,  138. 
Saying  of  Rivet,  494. 

of  Halyburton,  494. 
Scriptures,  precious,  170. 

search  the,  142,  511. 

the  true  test,  200. 
Sectarian,  a  bigoted,  51. 
Self-complacency,  no  good  sign, 

150. 
Sentimentalism,  59. 
"Shepherd  of  the  Valley,"  quot- 
ed, 448. 
Siclaiess,  trjdng,  493. 
Sin,  very  e^dl,  44,  51. 

horrible,  68. 

beginnings  of,  141. 

how  against  God,  216, 
Sins  of  the  times  lamented,  129. 

reviving,  160. 
Sinners  should  come  at  once  to 
Christ,  42,  45,  61,  63. 

in^dted  to  Christ,  80. 

the  greatest  may  be  saved, 
113. 

chief  of,  220. 

poor  indeed,  586. 
Skepticism,  31. 
Slander,  how  to  treat  it,  504. 
Sorrow,  worldly,  128. 
Soul,  the,  camiot  purify  itself,  39. 
Soul-troubles,  85. 
Sj)irit,  Holy,  may  be  resisted,  55. 

need  of,  15. 

liis  stri^dngs,  46,  54. 

we  must  not  grieve,  47,  62. 

very  losing,  62. 

works  we  know  not  how,  89. 
Spirit,  a  wounded,  138. 

a  glorified,  602. 
State  of  mind,  contradictory,  41, 

69. 
Stone,  a  white,  584. 
Strife,  evils  of,  426. 
Symmetry  of  Christian   charac- 
ter, 57o. 
Sympathy,  want  of,  137. 


610 


GENEEAL  INDEX. 


Teacliers,  503. 

Temptations,  expect  them,  43. 

Thoughts,  sceptical,  31. 

peaceable,  419. 
Time  and  eternity,  594. 

u. 

Unbelief,  61. 

a  gi-eat  sin,  118,  205. 
Unpardonable  sin,  107. 

maybe  committed  now,  108. 

\vhat  it  is,  and  is  not,  110. 

who  has,  and  who  has  not 
committed  it.  111. 


Y. 

Valor,  434. 

Vanity  of  mind,  158. 

Vileness,  sense  of,  54, 


67. 


w. 


Wealth,  warnings  against,  463. 
Wicked,  the,  unhax^py,  and  why, 
628. 


Wisdom  of  piety,  543. 
Words,  peaceable,  419. 
Work,  do  the  Lord's,  146. 
World  receding,  40. 
Worldliness,  dangers  of,  56. 
Wretchedness,  a  sense  of,  64. 

z. 

Zeal,  what  it  is,  551. 

sometimes  false,  552. 
in  wiU-worship,  553. 
blind,  554. 
contentious,  555. 
selfish,  555. 
boastful,  556. 
temporary,  556. 
self-righteous,  557. 
true,  557. 
not  timid,  559. 
not  ficlde,  559. 
fields  for  its  exercise,  560. 
need  of,  563. 
motives  to,  566. 
should    not    be    offensive, 
569. 


